The Ultimate Request
by akaHAZZAP
Summary: When Felicity Smoak finds herself kidnapped by notorious ex-Triad enforcer Oliver Queen, she never expects their goals to align and to wind up his partner in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

The Ultimate Request

By akaHAZZAP

Chapter One

This was not how she had expected to spend her Wednesday afternoon. No, definitely not. Her hands were twisted and tied tightly behind her. The rickety old chair which she sat on squeaked every time she rocked forward slightly, trying hard to use the training, all the damn training techniques she should know but to no success. She wished she had paid more goddamn attention to Anatoly, rather than moan at how much her ass hurt after every fall. She could see his exasperated face clouding her mind and frustratedly began to move her hands again attempting to free herself.

It wasn't the first time she had been kidnapped, and she doubted it would be her last. The previous time had lead to quite a brutal bout of torturing which had only ended when her men had infiltrated the area where she had been kept. Thankfully, her only reminder of that sorry event was a nasty looking scar on her right shoulder, proof of her survival.

She gulped uneasily at her memory, praying that that wouldn't happen again, she wasn't cut out for this, the kidnapping or torturing malarkey. Well, she supposed, no one really was, but she especially was not cut out for this. Right now she would do anything to retrace her steps and decide to do the logical thing and get Dig (her bodyguard) to accompany her to the shops. But she had grown accustom to her own adventures which she went on during her lunch hour, and frequently in the evening. It allowed her to have a breath of fresh air, to escape and to not feel so stifled in her life. Between running Smoak Industries and her Bratva nightly activities she always longed for moments where she could just be herself.

But this wasn't one of those moments, and she hoped to god that Dig had realised she hadn't returned to work after her small escapade, and that he would, in fact send out a search party.

She heard the rustling of a door opening behind her and it slammed shut quickly. She attempted to turn around to see who it was but unfortunately the old creaky chair stopped her from twisting fully around, her tight grey dress hiking its way up her thighs as he came into view.

He was a man, a very large man. Who was tall and broad, muscley, but not as much as Diggle, that would be a hard feat to beat. She was positive that this, this large man was dangerous, and could more than likely break her neck with one hand, probably even his pinky finger if he tried hard enough. Unfortunately, she couldn't make out his facial features, they were hidden in the silhouette of a large, dark green hood. He started to pace in front of her, his right index finger and thumb rubbing against each other in what would seem to be a nervous tick.

"I really don't think you have thought this through!" Felicity remarked tartly, her eyes narrowing as she watched this man as he continued to paced. "Do you know what will happen when they find me here with you, tied up to this goddam chair?! How many hours have I been here for? An hour? Or two? That's definitely enough time for several people to notice that I am missing. And for them to start looking for me. Do you know who I am?"

"I do...Felicity Smoak. MIT class of '09, CEO of Smoak Industries, Bratva informant and hacker. Father murdered by the Triad, Roy Harper, your half brother, illegitimate child whose mother was a drug addict, now fast becoming a prominent figure in the Bratva. And that brings me to Anatoly Knyazev, your godfather, now stepfather. Bratva Captain in Starling City. I very much know who you are Felicity Smoak."

She pursed her lips, a silence echoing through the empty warehouse as she thought of her next move. She knew who he was, yet she didn't at the same time. His voice was so familiar, but she couldn't place it. She had heard it often fairly recently but this new gruffness to it confused her. Who was he?

She would be lying if what he had just said didn't concern her. Somehow he knew all about her life, her Bratva life which was, well is a close kept secret. She had always been careful, her whole family had always been careful. They all knew what it would mean if their Bratva lives were uncovered. Prison if they were lucky, if not - she stopped her thoughts quickly as various ways she could be murdered flitted in quick succession through her mind.

This man obviously judged her silence as fear, or confusion so he continued, "and I need your help."

Her eyes narrowed at his words and her lips emitted a sharp, shrill laugh.

"Help? You want my help when you have knocked me unconscious, kidnapped me and held me hostage? What makes you think that I will give you my help?" she spat out at him, a few blonde strands which had escaped her always perfect ponytail, flying in front of her eyes as she moved her head in vigorous upset. He paused in his pacing and sat on the seat in front of her, his well calloused hands rubbing nervously on his knees. "Well are you going to give me an answer?"

He looked up at her then, his hood still hiding his identity before he pushed his fingers up, the hood falling loosely down his back, his eyes shifting to her eyes. She would have known those blue eyes and short, cropped hair anywhere.

"Oliver?"

Her eyes widened in shock before everything started to make so much more sense. Of course it was his voice. She thought back to the first time she had heard it, all those months ago, a witty remark on his tongue and a dazzling smile on his lips. She had always found him handsome from the moment she had first laid eyes on him. A dark grey suit hiding his muscular body and his white shirt which had been left slightly unbuttoned, something she had remarked on in a teasing nature those many months ago. They had spoken politely for a few minutes then, before later in the evening he returned to her, with a large glass of Pinot Noir. She, of course, gratefully accepted it and his company - Galas were her least favour events to attend. They had spoken then for a few hours and she was intrigued, who was he? Who was Oliver Queen?

It didn't take her long to find out, reformed playboy, spent several years working abroad (where she had unfortunately been unable to find much information on him, only fuelling her curiosity), loving friend, dolting big brother. But it was his father who had caused her concern, Robert Queen, Triad informant. And then she had discovered so was he, Oliver Queen, a Triad member. She had increased her research then, enticed to find out more about him. The Triad was her enemy, her family's enemy and could this be the weakness in the Triad that she had been looking for? Since her discovery she had kept a close eye on him, on his family and for some reason she had always had a soft spot for him. But deep down, she knew why he was here and she knew why he needed her help.

"If I untie you, will you sit and hear me out?" he proposed, his eyes rose to meet her shocked ones, pleading with her.

Before she realised what she was doing she was nodding her head in agreement, and then he was moving forward, cutting her wrists free finally sitting back in his chair as she rubbed the slightly chaffed skin around her wrists. She waited for him to continue, knowing no one was in control here. They were at a stalemate, which he had instigated, and this change in events intrigued her. To be honest ever since she first laid eyes on Oliver Queen he had always intrigued her.

"It's been a while," she said tartly, watching him warily, she hadn't seen him for a month at least and to be honest she didn't think anyone had. She had had her concerns that something had happened to him, and even though he had just kidnapped her, she kind of felt relieved that he was here in front of her and she just knew that he wasn't going to hurt her. She had met him several times after discovering he was Triad and each time she somehow knew he would never lay a finger on her.

"And I'm sure you understand why," he nodded in reply, his voice becoming grave and she knew he was going to talk about his parents. "I think everyone has heard about my parent's death at the beginning of the month..."

His eyes trailed across the floor as he spoke with distress, it was obvious he was still grieving. Her mind flitted back to a news headline which she had read gingerly all those weeks back - 'TRAGIC ACCIDENT KILLS ROBERT AND MOIRA QUEEN'. As soon as she had heard of their deaths, her heart had leaped out for him, she knew what it was like to lose a father, and she couldn't imagine the pain if she had lost her mother at the same time.

But she had to bring her thoughts back under control. Ever since her father had died she had been Bratva trained, it was her job to bring all her thoughts back under her own control and to think about how their deaths could benefit her, and the Bratva. It was a horrible thought, and she hated that she was trained to think in that way. It was during times when she was alone in the evenings that she wished her life was different, but it was not.

She had only informed the Bratva of the Queen's involvement with the Triad shortly after their deaths, when she had concluded that that was why they had been murdered. Anatoly had initially been intrigued by this development before deciding that the Queen family was a dead end, no point in further investigating. Their deaths enough evidence for that. However, Felicity had hoped that wouldn't be the case and for the last month she had been searching for a way to meet up with Oliver again, alone and unknown. Yet it seemed he had somehow managed to beat her to this, something that she was now feeling grateful for.

"I heard they died because of a car malfunction.." She trailed off, her fingers plying together uncomfortable with his obvious distress.

"That's what was reported.." his eyes darkened and she knew her suspicions were right. Oliver knew it wasn't an accident, exactly what she had speculated to Anatoly all those weeks ago.

"I thought so," she murmured, and he looked up surprised by this. He obviously wasn't expecting her to have even given his parents, let alone him a second thought. "We knew about your family involvement with the triad..."

"As soon as they murdered my parents, I cut ties with them, not that I had many... My father worked selectively with them, and I helped out on some of the finer missions. But in the last few months they were becoming less and less frequent. I was trying to leave, make a better life for myself and so was my father. We had both had enough of it... Of the way they treated women. The Triad obviously realised what was happening and the next thing I know I'm being woken up by police knocking at my front door telling me that my parent had died in a 'accident'."

His eyes darkened with sadness and betrayal. Felicity knew all too well that both the Bratva and Triad were brutal organisations and escaping their clutches by leaving was one of the hardest, if not most impossible things to do.

"And that's why I need your help, your protect. The Triad fear Anatoly, they fear you, or 'Oracle' as they call you. I want justice for my parents murders, and I have a younger sister, Thea... I just want her to be safe and if I was under your protection then we would be considerably more protected, the Triad would have to seriously reconsider seeking us out, and that would bide us all time... I know you want revenge for your father too..."

He shuffled closer to her then, his hand reaching into his leather jacket pulling out a rather battered phone which made her heart sink into her chest. He turned the screen towards her revealing a beautiful young teenager, she couldn't be any older than fifteen. Her thin, petite face framed with long, wavy, brown hair and a large carefree smile on her lips.

"I swear I didn't want to do this to you, I didn't want to kidnap you. But I just couldn't see another way to get you attention, to get you alone," he spoke softly as he flicked through to another photo, this time of the young girl on his back, them both obvious in fits of laughter by the big smiles on their faces and the way the camera had caught them. "Thea, she's only fifteen, and I would do anything to protect her... She doesn't deserve this life..."

Felicity glanced up at him then, his eyes had softened and she would be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive. To be honest, she had always found him attractive, in a suit, or that time she bumped into him when he was on a run, his muscles bulging out beneath his tight t-shirt and shorts. And it wasn't that she was not use to having a man of this caliber next to her. She worked with Bratva men, many Bratva men and they were large, and handsome men, muscley men. But there was something about this man in front of her. He was big, so big that she knew that he could do some serious damage to her, but it was the look in his eyes, that held her captivated, that made her find him so attentive, and attractive. His eyes crinkling slightly as he spoke about his little sister.

Instead of commenting on his need for her help, she knew he would continue his spiel in a moment, but his sister was obvious important to him and that meant she was important in this very moment.

"She's beautiful, your sister..."

"She is," he replied, smiling sadly at her for a moment before becoming more serious and pocketing his phone. "So will you consider working with me? For us to get together? For Thea's sake?"

All this mentioning of his sister, made her think of her brother, or half brother, Roy and she knew that even though he was taller and stronger and could definitely protect himself now, she would do anything in her power to make sure that he was safe. All the tech which she had given him was enough evidence of that.

"And by working with you I take it you mean us, in a relationship?" she asked, frowning slightly in deep thought. It was believable after all, they had spent many nights together all those months ago.

"I'm not sure if just a relationship would cut it. The Triad are very particular about relationships, they only protect those who are blood related or those bound in matrimony-"

"So marriage then...?" She laughed out loud, but seeing his serious face she choked the remaining laugh down. Oh boy she did not expect this at all in her plans. "Oh god, you are serious? You knock me out, handcuff me to this chair, then release me and now you propose? All I wanted to do today was have a nice day at work with no interruptions. Especially none about how that guy from accounting had accidentally downloaded another bug when he was watching porn for the 20th time this month - god I really need to fire him." His brow furrowed in confusion by her off topic, rant. But she swiftly realised that she didn't to get back onto the topic, oh yes, proposal. "But a proposal, nope I definitely was not expecting that today, probably not... ever!"

"I know it's unbelievable, but you are honestly my only hope, I don't... I don't know what I will do if you say no..." His eyes flickered up to hers filled with distress and angst. She gulped, realising she really was his last hope, at least maybe, something was actually working in her favour for once.

"And why should I believe you? Trust you? You should know I don't trust easily."

This was true, she didn't trust easily, but ever since she met him she had trusted him. And plus she needed him to think she was wary of him, it would arise suspicious if she accepted his proposal graciously, wouldn't it? And she also should probably work out if it was all worth the risk, would he be able to help her bring down the Triad? Once and for all?

"And you have every right not to trust me, but that's why I am going to give you this," he said fumbling for a moment in his jacket again and she sat a little upright, all too aware of what he could bring out of his pocket, even if it did seem extremely unlikely. Thankfully, all he pulled out was a USB stick. He reached his hand out and she accepted it, his fingers slightly brushing her outstretched hand. "This has some of the data I managed to download this morning from the Triad's main base. The rest I have on a hard drive, hidden away. That, is yours to keep no matter what, take it as an apology for putting you through this ordeal. I know secrets about the Triad as well. Those and the hard drive will be yours, if you accept me."

She eyed the drive warily. She needed to act this out, but inside she bubbled with excitement, data directly from the Triad, it was everything that she had ever dreamed and hoped for. He seemed genuine, and so did the data but she knew she needed to check it out before she could even begin to accept his deal. This agreement between them, had been what she had originally hope for. She had always wished to have an informant within the Triad feeding her secrets, something that was obviously not going to happen here, but maybe this would be a reasonable price to pay for all the data?

"I'll let you leave now, I can even give you a ride to your office, or your home, I'll let you decode the data, and then get in contact with me. I don't have a backup plan though. So if I don't hear from you within the hour, I'll take that as your answer."

"An hour? That won't be enough time for me to decrypt this-"

"I think we all know that is not true, Felicity, we both know that you are the best in your field," he interrupted her with a smirk in return, and she smiled in surprise. He definitely had listened to her when they first met, she had taunted him about her genius status and it seemed that he had, in fact, been listening to her.

"Well I think a lift would be advisable, seeing as I have no idea where I am. Oh god, I hope Diggle won't be too pissed at me for this!" She froze as she thought of her bodyguard and what this little disappearance would be causing him. "He normally lets my little jaunts slip past him as long as I don't get into too much trouble, and well I think today, is definitely a little more trouble than I am allowed to get myself into..."

"I'm sorry for putting you through this Felicity," he murmured, his eyes glancing to the floor away from her face illustrating how much he regretted putting her into this situation. "But I just couldn't see anyone allowing me to sit down and have a conversation with you, you are always so closely guarded. I just couldn't see another way..."

"Don't worry about it, as far as kidnapping goes this has definitely been the best one yet, but maybe next time just try talking to me instead?" She smiled warmly, acknowledging how distressed he was and how she wasn't annoyed at him.

She rose from the chair, her heels clinking as she walked across the room towards the door. It took him a moment to move, he was too absorbed in, well, her. He never dreamed he would ever get this far. He had been hopeful, yes, very hopefully, but he never imagined that he would feel this much assurance after this small rendezvous.

He rose up and started to follow her as she turned her head, making sure that he was accompanying her. Within moments they were in his black Sudan, and speeding out of the parking lot towards her house which he knew from his own research was situated in a small, high profile residential area of Starling City.

For the entire journey they sat in silence, his hand tapping the steering wheel in a nervous gesture as Felicity watched out of the window the entire time, street after street speeding past them quickly, her mind racing, trying to work out if this would actually work out.

It only took twenty minutes until he halted the car outside the highly protected gates and he turned to watch her.

"Here take this as well..." He handed her a piece of paper a number scribbled on it in his scruffy handwriting. "Please, phone me by six..."

She stretched out her hand and accepted the paper, squeezing his hand for a moment before withdrawing it. There was something about him, something so intriguing and his proposal filled her with hope, but she wouldn't dare say that to him, at least not yet.

"I'm not sure if I should say thanks for the ride, after the kidnapping, but I guess I shall speak to you soon..."

He chucked then, amused that she could crack a joke in a situation like this.

"And I hope to speak to you sooner rather than later too..."

She nodded in reply, then swung the door open, stepping out, her handbag swinging around her shoulder as she swiftly shut the door behind her. Her heels dug uncomfortably into the gravel as she approached the gate, quickly typing in the passcode before trundling up to the front door and entering her house. She was grateful for once to find it quiet and empty because now she needed to work. She needed to know if he was actually telling her the truth and if this USB stick did literally hold all her hopes and dreams.

With that thought at the forefront of her mind she hurried to her study before quickly booting up one of her many computers. Whilst she waited she shrugged her jacket off and peered down at her wrists, examining her skin to make sure that there wasn't much of a mark left from the car ties. Thankfully, there wasn't and not before long the computer was up and running and she was examining the USB content.

It took her half an hour to decode some of the information and elation spread through her when she realised that in fact, Oliver had spoken the truth. The realisation that this was only the beginning of the data which she had spent the last few years trying to get a hold of made her giddy with excitement. Sighing happily, she leaned back. She knew she needed the rest of the data, her mind whirling at the thought of what she could do if they had all the data. And that seemed to cement her answer further. It didn't matter that he wouldn't be an informant for her. He had data and she knew she could get so many answers from that.

She glanced at her phone, 5:33pm. The least she could make him do was to make him sweat for a few more minutes, he had kidnapped her after all.

She made her away to the kitchen then, pausing at her reflection in the mirror, surprised to see her hair so dishevelled. Shaking her hair out of her usual ponytail she continued downstairs, slowing down on high alert when she realised someone was at the front door, about to enter. Before she had time to contemplate what to do the door was thrown open, revealing Diggle, his gun raised and ready to harm what he thought was an intruder, in her house.

"Woah... woah Dig, calm down it's just me..." She replied raising her hands in surrender, a natural habit of hers.

"Felicity?! How did you get here? Are you all right?"

He looked around for any signs of foul play. He was obviously confused by how she was there and why she had disappeared for several hours and had not contacted anyone to explain why.

"I'm fine, it's just me here, put that thing away," she shook her head in disgust. Even though she knew how to fire a gun, she never liked the damn things and Diggle knew that perfectly well.

"Where an earth have you been?!" He growled with a great deal of concern dripping from his features.

He looked her over quickly, checking for any sign of injury before deciding that she was alright before tightly embracing her in a brotherly hug. He gestured to the two other men, who Felicity had only just realised now had appeared with him and they set off surveying the house, checking each room for any intruder as they always did every time she came home. Accepting that Dig was happy she was fine she released him before turning towards the kitchen. After everything that had happened she really needed a nice large cup of coffee to calm her nerves. Diggle followed her closely, obviously wanted answers from her.

"Just out," she replied hesitantly, not sure how this conversation was going to go. Diggle had always had some reservations towards the Queen's because of their Triad involvement and there was no way that this conversation was going to go smoothly. Just as well she wasn't going to tell him Oliver had kidnapped as well. That would definitely mean this would all end in disaster!

"And if you want to go out then you need protection. How many times do I have to tell you that...?" He droned back, watching her as she turned the kettle on and pulled a few mugs out of a cupboard. "Maybe I have been letting you off too lightly these last few months, the Triad are becoming stronger, more powerful, maybe Anatoly will manage to speak some sense into you..."

"Don't tell Anatoly, please," she pleaded turning around to look sharply up at him as she spooned a couple of dollops of ground coffee into each cup. "I want to tell him in my own time..."

"I'll consider not telling him if you tell me what the hell is going on! That's the third time this week you have disappeared! How am I meant to do my job if you keep running off on your own?!"

Taking a deep breath she stood looking out the window, taking her time to contemplate how exactly to tell him about Oliver. Coming straight out with the proposal would be a disaster, so that would have to wait, she needed to start small. She knew Diggle, she knew how fiercely he wanted to protect her and if she confided in him and revealed her plan he would never agree with her. He would never trust Oliver and then she would never get the data, and they need it. They needed that data. She turned around, fiddling with her necklace, the one her father had given her all those years ago.

"So there is a reason I have been going around by myself, and I didn't want to tell you until I worked out what was happening, but I've been meeting someone..." She admitted, turning back to face him so she could watch him carefully as he his features morphed from shock to confusion.

"Felicity...?"

"And it's probably not someone I should have been meeting with which is why I have been sneaking around..."

Thank god she had been sneaking around attempting to get her hands on more of the Triad data by herself. The sole reason for her sneaking around was because she knew Anatoly and Diggle would not approve of it. They always said it was too dangerous, something she shouldn't be doing. Her, sitting behind a computer was fine enough, but whenever she left the confines of her computer they always got a bit testy. Thinking about it now, Oliver was damn well lucky that she had been sneaking around. At least now they had a believable cover for this relationship, this engagement.

Diggle narrowed his eyes at this. Obviously working out that this was a dangerous man that she had been seeing, and most likely an enemy as well.

"Who is he?"

"He's... He's been helping me get some data from the Triad, and things developed and now we are pretty close..." she worded carefully glancing at the clock, realising that she would have to wrap up this conversation pretty quickly if she was going to call him back within the hour.

"Who is he?" Diggle stipulated each word.

"And before you judge him, just know that he is important to me and he has helped me a lot these last few months," she held her finger up so she could finish speaking. Diggle was one of the few people who actually knew her well, and since she was going to be engaged to Oliver, well she needed to make this whole farce believable.

Diggle narrowed his eyes even further she knew he wanted a name. Knowing that she would have to give it no matter what she bit her lip before squeaking it out, shutting her eyes so not to see his reaction.

"Oliver Queen."

"Goddamn it Felicity!" He growled, throwing his hands up to his head in a mixture of fury and frustration. He waited a moment, thinking about her reveal. "I suspected something like this was happening behind my back. He's Triad, Felicity! He's dangerous! I knew as soon as you suggested that Moira and Robert Queen were murdered that there was something else going on here! How could you even be alone with him in the first place? He is a risk! A threat!"

"Yes, maybe he is dangerous. But he is not Triad. Not anymore. I was right when I said that the Triad murdered his parents! And all he wants to do now is protect his younger sister! And be with me... I have proof up this up the stairs on a USB stick which is filled with data that proves he is no longer involved with the Triad!" she stated coolly, heat rising in her cheeks. Maybe she wasn't telling the whole truth but she knew Oliver could be trusted. She just hoped to god that this didn't come and bite her back the ass. His face appeared in her mind, and she saw the way his eyes crinkled when he spoke of his sister, she felt like she could trust Oliver, well she knew she could. And he was going to be useful, not just to her, but to Anatoly, he knew so much about the Triad that they didn't.

"Maybe that's the case but you shouldn't have met him without me, I'm your bodyguard, I'm meant to protect you and how an earth am I suppose to do that when you are swaning off to meet the enemy?!"

"He's not the enemy."

"Felicity! Until I meet him and do a full scale search into his entire life, until I know every minuet detail, he is the enemy. He's Triad until I decide otherwise. He isn't safe..." he took in a sharp breath, attempting to calm down slightly. "I'm meant to be your friend as well Felicity, you should at least have told me about this as your friend.."

"I know Dig," she thought out her next words carefully, pausing to consider what to say and how to make this situation slightly better for Diggle. He was right after all. He was one of her closest friends and confidants. "But I knew what you would say, and I wanted to wait... Wait until it was serious..." She gulped hard, lying to one of her best friends was difficult enough as it was. "Just start your life analysis of him and meet him, then you can realised that what I am saying is the truth..."

He grunted in reply picking up his phone to start his research, obviously still very much annoyed by the fact that she was seeing someone so forbidden and dangerous. Realising that this was in fact the end of their discussion she turned to leave the room, picking up her handbag and coffee.

5:58pm. She was cutting it fine. She hastily moved up the stairs and entered her bedroom, surveying it quickly to make sure no-one was there. Happy that there wasn't, she pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her purse, before swiftly dialling the number. It rang twice before he answered.

"Felicity?!" Even over the phone she could sense the hope and fear in his voice, something which she was not at all familiar with.

"So when do you want to meet my family, Mr Smoak?"

END CHAPTER

A/N - I would like to say thank you so much to so-caffeinated for taking the time to read over this and giving me pointers on ways to improve this fic! Also special thanks to 11-dino for being my amazing cheerleader! I don't think I would have gotten here without you! So I hope you enjoy this Fic which has been my hiatus baby! For more updates you can find me on tumblr as akahazzap!


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

After initially accepting his proposal she spoke to Oliver for a while after they both realised how much they still had to discuss. How was this all going to work? Where were they going to live? When were they going to get married? How was she going to tell her parents? Her friends? Thankfully it didn't take them long to decide that keeping the fact this whole relationship was a marriage of convenience between themselves was essential. It was lucky that they had spent quite a lot of time together all those months ago. But even now she was unsure why they had drifted apart, he hadn't contacted her and well, she hadn't either in the end. It was only now that she was wishing she had confronted him, because maybe he would have been more useful to her if they had started this relationship all those months ago, but at least now he could help.

She was distracted from her thoughts as she heard feet thundering along her hallway and several loud voices. Shuffling to her feet to find out what an earth was going on she was surprising to find her mother flinging herself towards her, her blonde hair flying everywhere and starling Felicity.

"Felicity! Are you alright honey...?"

Her mother enveloped her further into her arms, pulling her closer. It was obvious that she had heard about her small mishaps earlier that day. She must have been worried, every since Felicity had returned from her years at MIT her mother had turned around a new leaf, she was always concerned about what Felicity was doing, where she was and after Felicity's disastrous relationship with Ray it had peaked and ended in an argument of momentous proportions. It had taken Felicity a good few weeks to forgive her, and Donna had finally realised that she needed to give Felicity some more space, which Donna often forgot. But no-one was ever perfect, and at least Felicity mostly had a loving family who truly cared for her.

"Woah Mom, calm down! I'm fine!" Felicity assured her as she hugged her back. Felicity let go from the hug fairly quickly but Donna still had her arms tightly in place around her, needing the physical contact to make sure that her only daughter was in fact all right. Eventually, Donna released her, her hands grabbing Felicity's cheeks to bring both their eyes into contact.

"I'm being serious Felicity, both Anatoly and I have been so worried and concerned when we got the call from John today! I honestly can't say how relieved I was when John said that you were home and well. So don't you ever do that to us again Felicity! It was almost like your father all over again..."

Felicity looked sheepishly up at her, only now considering the fact that her disappearance had actually upset her mother, even if it wasn't actually her fault. It was the least she could do.

"Felicity, are you sure you are alright? John said you just disappeared needed some alone time?" She heard Anatoly ask from behind her mother doubt and suspicion evident in his voice. He knew his step-daughter, his god-daughter well. And he knew there was something going on which she wasn't telling them. All too aware of Anatoly's thoughts Felicity knew that she had to bite the bullet. There was going to be a fall out no matter what, but the sooner she got this over with the sooner they could move forward and they could get back on track to destroying the Triad once and for all.

"Yeah that's what I should probably tell you about..." She trailed off pulling Donna's hands away from her face. This was the challenging part, what exactly was the best way to tell the leader of the Bratva that you are kinda dating or rather engaged to the enemy? Not that Oliver was the enemy, but to Anatoly he most definitely was. "I think we need some wine for this... Or maybe something a little stronger? Let me get the vodka..."

"Felicity...? You are worrying me honey..." asked Donna her voice dripping with concern as she watched her daughter remove a few glasses and a large bottle of vodka from a cupboard.

"So over the last couple of weeks, well months I haven't been entirely honest with anyone..." She poured a reasonable amount of vodka in the small glasses before handing them out. She downed her own, wincing slightly as it burned her throat on its way down. She coughed slightly, clearing her throat, before gathering up her courage, she really just needed for this all to be over with. "I've been seeing someone..."

It was silent for a moment, Anatoly watching her. His small beady eyes flickering around her face looking for a sign, any sign that there was something more going on here. And Felicity returned his stare back at him coolly, keeping her face neutral, after all her Bratva training now was not the time to crack under pressure, especially under pressure forced upon her by her stepfather. She was stronger than that.

However, Donna was another story, it took her a moment to consider Felicity's admittance, and Felicity knew she was trying to work out if this was going to be another Ray scenario all over again which of course it most definitely wasn't.

"Finally! Oh Felicity I am so pleased for you! I have been worrying about you ever since that horrible breakup with that awful man... I told you Anatoly, didn't I! I knew there was a change in you, some more determination! You're so much like your father..."

Donna trailed off positively squealing, she had obviously decided that whoever this man was he was someone good in Felicity's life, much to Felicity's delight! Having her mother on her side would definitely make it easier to convince Anatoly, and help with Oliver's transition into their lives. She was surprised, however, that it hadn't really taken all that much to convince Donna, she thought she would have to wave the 'he is Oliver Queen' flag before Donna would be content with this new relationship. Looking back on it now Felicity realised ever since she had met Oliver all those months ago she had been different. Spending less times visiting her parents, becoming more involved with the Bratva and spending more time on her own, planning. Donna must have noticed this slight change and Donna being Donna had concluded that it was because of a boy. It made sense, really. Nearly every Sunday Felicity would visited her Mother and Anatoly for a family dinner and over the last few months Donna had upped this discussions around Felicity's lack of a relationship. Donna had repeated again and again that it has been two years since Ray, since he had ended their relationship, and well Donna had clearly stated, that Felicity should move on, get herself out there, find herself a man (or woman if that's the way she swung, Donna wasn't really picky).

"Calm down Donna, you can have your turn to ask everything later," Anatoly interrupted her firmly, still carefully watching Felicity who hadn't said anything to her mother, or made any gesture of excitement which Anatoly had expected of his stepdaughter after announcing a new relationship. "Who is he Felicity?"

She looked up at Anatoly, nibbling her bottom lip slightly in worry, she knew what his reaction was going to be and no matter how much she wanted this all to be over she was still at times scared of Anatoly. There was a good reason why Anatoly was a Bratva Captain after all.

"Who is he?" Anatoly's question was firmer this time, he demanded an explanation from Felicity. He needed to know what was going on in her life, assess if this was a threat to the Bratva and minimise it if necessary.

Felicity pushed her shoulders back, gathering up every bit of confidence she could. She breathed in. She could do this. It had been a while since she had any need to stand up to Anatoly, but in her rebellious teenager years she had done it frequently. But now it seemed different, she was an adult she shouldn't need to lie to her family, but to get this job done she knew she needed to, and that's what pushed her forward.

"Now before you get mad, this isn't just a fling, I researched... I did a lot of research and it took me quite a while before I actually began to trust him, so don't even think I have just jumped into this relationship willy nilly..." her tone was sharp and blunt, her eyes focusing solely on Anatoly. It was him who she need to convince that Oliver wasn't a threat, and that she really did love him and trust him and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

"Goddamit Felicity it better not be who I think it is!" he snarled, slamming his hand down on her kitchen surface causing Felicity to jump at the sudden noise and harsh movement.

So maybe this was not going to be as easy as she had thought, after meeting Oliver at the Gala all those months ago there had been some speculation about a relationship between the two of them. Obviously Felicity had denied everything, because they weren't together. But she knew Anatoly had a great memory and he must have put two and two together.

"It better not be Robert fucking Queen's son!"

Felicity adverted her eyes then, turning to busily bustle into the cupboards before pouring a large glass red wine. She took a large swing from it, not answering Anatoly. But that was all it took for him to know that he had in fact guessed correctly.

"Oh for fucksake! I knew I should have warned you off him after those reports all those months ago! And again after you tried to convince me that his parents were murdered! Of course you were highly invested in all of it! In everything that has been happening between the Queen's and the Triad! I thought it was just because of their Triad involvement but it seems I have a blind eye to you and men! How can you even bare to be associated with the Queen's?! With people associated with the Triad after everything that has happened?! Do you even think about your father? Do you even think about how they brutally murdered him?" he snarled his temper rising in anger and the large vein on the side of his neck pulsed with rage.

"Calm down, Anatoly..." murmured Donna. But both Anatoly and Felicity ignored her too intent in hashing out their feelings and disagreement. They both thought they were right and they both wanted to prove it.

"He's not like that! How dare you say that to me after everything that has happened! I can't believe you would bring up my father in all this. He's the reason that I am involved in the Bratva! So don't you dare ever bring him up like this ever again! Oliver is a good man, that's the reason I am with him! He's been separating himself from the Triad for months, that's the reason why his parents are dead! And I was right when I told you they were murdered! They were trying to leave, to start a fresh! I have files proving all of this because I knew you wouldn't believe him, and I knew you wouldn't believe me! You don't trust anyone, and sometimes you do need to trust your family! There is no weakness in that!" exploded Felicity back narrowing her eyes at her stepfather. It was rare nowadays that they fought, but when they did it got nasty quickly and words were said which she often regretted and wished she hadn't. "He's helping us now, I have data, lots of key Triad data which I'm working to decode! I could have never gotten that if he hadn't given it to me! You would never have found it either. So even if you are unhappy by all this at least be grateful, he is going to help us bring down the Triad even if you don't like it."

"I don't like it and I never will," he snarled back still angry, his fingers turning white because of how hard he was grasping the kitchen surface. "And how do you know that he isn't taking advantage of you like your past relationships?!"

"That's a low blow. Even for you Anatoly," she spat, seeing red. Her past relationships were always a sore point for her and Anatoly knew it and exploited this weakness, often. "He isn't, why do you think I am only telling you about our relationship now? And I've taken plenty precautions this time, I'm not a naive little girl..."

"Of course you aren't Felicity but what does John make of him?" asked Donna, trying to take away some of the confrontation. This was a nasty argument and Donna was clearly upset by it. Unfortunately, Donna had unknowingly stumbled onto another point which would hike Anatoly's fury even higher. Donna seemed to have a knack of making things worse, much to Felicity's frustration. She rubbed her forehead, ready for what she was sure would be another bollocking.

"Well, let's just say he might still be in the middle of his research...?" squeaked out Felicity cradling her glass of wine. She drank some more because it helped slightly, even if she knew in the long run that the wine and the vodka would make things far worse.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me?! John is your fucking bodyguard for a reason! Why the hell have you been meeting up without John?! You better starting talking otherwise-"

"And this is the exact reason why I never told anyone! I'm twenty five! I can look after myself! I have made several important adult decisions in the last few months by myself without any interference from John, or from you and it was solely because I knew you would over react like this! Yes, I understand your concern! I really do... I know the Triad are dangerous, but Oliver has been looking after me... You need to trust me on this! I know what's good for me and right now that is Oliver... He's helping and well..." She trailed off, she was lying through her teeth to her parents. And she knew it was wrong, they just wanted to protect her, but she needed to do this, for herself and for her father... And well she had to be believable right? "I love him..."

"Un-fucking-believable... Where is John?! He better have that research on Queen right now..."

"He's in my study going over some of my files on the Queen's. Everything I say I have proof of... All the information I have gathered... Just... Anatoly, please give him a chance..." pleaded Felicity, she needs this to work for herself. And for Oliver, for some reason she felt the need to protect him, from the Triad yes that was inevitable, but she would also need to protect him from Anatoly too, if it came to that.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get any further with Felicity at this current moment Anatoly stormed out of the kitchen in an attempt to find Diggle to at least get some answers, ones which he hoped were in his favour.

"Don't mind him, Felicity, he'll get over it, and take care of you... He's just trying to be a father to you..."

"I know Mom, just sometimes it's hard and he has to let me make my own decisions... I've made plenty of mistakes in the past, you both know that, but I have learnt from them... And if this is a mistake, then I will learn from this one too..."

"I know that honey," agreed Donna, rubbing up and down Felicity's arm in comfort.

Donna knew Felicity was vulnerable when it came to men, it was a weakness that they both shared. At least Donna knew of Oliver Queen, she knew of his past mistakes and had heard the rumours that he was now a changed man, and that gave her hope. Hope for her daughter, because Felicity meant the world to her, like any daughter did to their mother.

"Anatoly's just worried and he has every right to be, I'm not going to say I don't trust you honey... But you know Anatoly is a cautious man but when he has the facts he will come round... Now tell me about Oliver! What's he like?!"

"I know... I know... Oliver well..." She fidgeted slightly uncomfortable not knowing how to carry on this conversation with her mum. No matter the problems they had had in the past they had since resolved them and her mother was someone who meant the world to her which meant lying to her, well, was hard. And she had to make something up about Oliver, something believable and that was challenging in itself. Yes she did know him, better than she should but how could she even begin to describe him to her mother? She decided to stick to the truth but exaggerating it slightly, she didn't want to get so buried under with lies that she was already drowning in. "He's fairly large, and he works out a lot, and he's kind. His sister, Thea she means everything to him. Their parents deaths hit them both hard, Oliver's been struggling, no matter how much he tries to deny it but he's just been so good with Thea... And he's helping me Mom, I've got data which I would never get my hands on if it wasn't for him... He's helping me finally face my demons with the Triad, so I can move on with my life..."

Because well he was all those things, after all.

"You know I always wished you had never become involved with the Bratva," her mother whispered, pulling her into a hug again, stroking her hair. "And if he's helping you and making a difference then I couldn't care less who he is or what he's done as long as he does nothing to hurt you..."

"He won't Mom," Felicity chuckled softly leaning into her embrace. "He knows he won't stand a chance if he tries to pull anything off..."

"Well I'm glad of that! When do I get to meet him? Soon I hope, you have kept him hidden from us for far too long, but I understand why. You needed to be cautious after everything," smiled Donna warmly. "Bring him round for dinner on Sunday, and his sister... If he's going to be an important part of your life we just have to meet him..."

Felicity knew it was true, seeing as they were engaged which maybe her Mother didn't quite know yet, but she would soon. Felicity knew dinner was going to be an awkward event, it was inevitable, there was no way that Anatoly was going to manage to adjust well to this sudden development in her life within a couple of days, even within a couple of weeks. She was sure that eventually, maybe in a couple of months or perhaps years he would be able to fully appreciate this. But years?! Felicity gulped again only now realising what she had really signed her life away for? That was another thing they needed to discuss. They had so much to talk about and plan, both her and Oliver needed to be on the same page for this all to work out.

"But what about Anatoly...?" asked Felicity, the hesitation in her voice.

"He'll be fine with it by then, as long as John gives him a decent enough pass... And anyway I have my ways of persuading him..." smirked Donna raising her eyebrows mischievously.

"Mom! I did not need to know!" Felicity squirmed in disgust, screwing up her face and eyes trying to get rid of the ghastly image that her mother had just created in her head. That was something that she wished she could un-think, desperately!

"Oh shush! It's not like you are a virgin Felicity! And I'm sure you and Oliver are up to all sorts of things!" laughed Donna nudging her side as Felicity groan.

No matter how old she was, discussing sex with her mother was always going to be awful and awkward experience. It was annoying that Donna seemed to like having conversations about sex. And Felicity thought her day couldn't get any worse? It seemed if Donna kept on at that conversation she would definitely be wrong. Dying of embarrassment could be just enough to actually tip her over the edge of the cliff which her emotions had vicariously been sitting on.

After Donna and Anatoly eventually left the night had dragged on. She spent hours tossing and turning unable to sleep, plagued with nightmares of Oliver betraying her, and turning her into the Triad. It made sense for her to have fears, but when it came to Oliver she felt like they were silly. She knew that as soon as she saw Oliver again, all the worries would vanish, he always had had some sort of control over her, something she couldn't describe, and fortunately she was positive that he wasn't aware of it.

Eventually it was morning and she felt a little worse for wear, the lack of sleep evident in her eyes and something that Diggle remarked upon as soon as he arrived to discuss his new favourite topic, or rather her favourite topic, Oliver. He didn't stay for long, grumbling about how it seemed Felicity had been speaking the truth, and giving her his approval, allowing Oliver to move in with her. Not that she needed it anyway, Oliver and Thea moving in was necessary for their own safety and even if Diggle or Anatoly had forbidden it she would have disregarded their comments. But at least Diggle's approval would make everything easier. And that's where he had gone now, to fill Anatoly in with everything that was happening, and Felicity hoped he would manage to talk Anatoly around with a little help from her mother.

Felicity had just finished her lunch when the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of Oliver and Thea. Oliver had wanted to wait until the weekend to move in, to allow Felicity to have some of her own space, and to carry on as normal for the week. But the whole reason for Oliver coming to Felicity was because of the danger they were in and she was adamant that they should move in as soon as possible. At least she could help protect them more. Psyching herself up, she pulled the door open, a slightly forced happy smile on her face.

"Oh, hi!" smiled Felicity warmly as she greeted them.

She surveyed the pair in front of her, Oliver had his shoulders hunched up and Thea had a scowl on her face. It was obvious that Thea wasn't happy to be there, a sulking look on her face, her arms folded in a closed off stance. Oliver on the other hand looked strained, his eyes slightly furrowing as he took in Felicity's appearance. She was dressed smartly in navy skinny jeans and a soft pink blouse, comfortable, but appropriate for meeting Thea, or that's what she had thought when she had decided on what to wear this morning anyway.

"Hi Felicity," Oliver replied taking a few steps towards Felicity and enveloping her in a hug. Felicity went ridged for a moment, surprised by his behaviour before she relaxed her shoulders a little, pulling Oliver in closer to her once she realised that Thea thought that they were really engaged and she knew that from now on her life would be a charade of keeping up appearances, even in her own home. This was something which made her feel slightly uncomfortable and unhappy about, but she knew she wasn't in a position to have much of an option of this. She couldn't exactly say yes to Oliver moving in with her and no to Thea, that would have been completely uncalled for. During their phone call the previous night they had decided that they would keep the knowledge of the lack of a real relationship between the two of them. He pressed a soft kiss on her hairline before he released her and she stumbled back a little, not really knowing what to do or really how to do anything. It seemed he had a strange affect on her, one which she did not quite understand. "Felicity... This is my sister Thea..."

"It's lovely to meet you Thea, I have heard so much about you from Oliver!" Felicity greeted her pleasantly as she reached out her hand to shake Thea's. The girl peered down at Felicity's hand in disgust, it becoming pretty clear to Felicity that no matter what she did right now, it would never be good enough for Thea. Surprisingly, however, Thea did accept her hand shaking it quickly before letting it swing back to her side.

"Obviously I would have liked to meet you under better circumstances and before your parents deaths but at least I'm getting to meet you now! Oh god shut me up right now... I'm sorry that was really inappropriate..." remarked Felicity shutting her mouth as she turned around and lead them both into her house.

Thea nodded slightly in reply, avoiding eye contact with the pair of them. Thea stepped past Felicity, further into the hall Felicity's Robin Hood poster holding her attention which she had hanging in the hall much to her mother and Anatoly's disgust.

"Hey you don't need to apologise Felicity, I should about her... She... She's struggling to deal with everything that's been going on..." Oliver murmured, his hand resting on the small of her back as they both watched Thea wander slowly down the corridor. Before Felicity knew what she was doing she found her hand squeezing his in comfort, then releasing it quickly and following Thea down the hall.

"Thea, I'll show you where your room is going to be, now I know it's probably not to your taste but I'm sure we can go to the store at the weekend and we can paint it and get a few bits and bobs to make it more... Ummm hip? Or classy...? Well anyway we can do it up however you like..." rambled Felicity as they followed up the stairs.

Felicity pushed the door of the room opposite hers (and well Oliver's, they hadn't fully discussed that elephant in the room yet) open. But with Thea being kept in the dark, and Dig that actually meant that they probably did need to share a bedroom together. It was yet another thing that they hadn't discussed and realising this increased the need to iron out everything, to set down ground rules before they got any deeper into this relationship, especially if they wanted to keep this rouse going long enough to take down the Triad.

Thea observed the room for a moment, obviously deciding that it was satisfactory in the mean time and she took a few steps towards the bed before curling up on it, putting her headphones on and starting to blare some sort of loud heavy metal music which brought Felicity back to her days at MIT. It was a well known fact that in her rebellious teenager years she had been a goth, something which Oliver had once teased her about after she had once let it slip out.

"Great, well we can sort that all out later..." Felicity trailed off figuring that this was the end of her conversation with Thea.

It was rude, yes, the way that Thea was treating her, but had Felicity expected any different from her? No, not really. Everyone coped with adverse events happening in their lives differently, so Felicity had been prepared for Thea to act in a variety of different ways.

"Thanks for all that you are doing for us, I appreciated it," Oliver jerked his head towards Thea's closed door as he followed Felicity into her own room. "This hasn't been easy for her and I'm... I'm worried about her... She's not really speaking to anyone right now, especially not me..."

"You don't need to thank me for that," remarked Felicity carefully as she sat down on the couch right next to the window, the sunlight floating in and landing nicely on Oliver's face, illuminating his already beautiful features. "I know what it's like to be a grieving teenager, I'm sure she shall be alright, just give her time and some love..."

Felicity looked up into his eyes which were staring off in the distance, full of hurt that his sister was shutting him out. It was clear that all he wanted was her to confide in him, but as a teenager that was hard enough without loosing your parents and being moved into your brother fiancée's house of whom she had never met.

"Basically what I'm trying to say is don't neglect her. Her life has changed drastically in such a small space of time she is going to hate everything about it, but just be there for her. That was what the worst thing about my father dying was, my Mum shut me out, she couldn't cope with it, and well I couldn't either, we never got on well in my teenage years, but at least now we get on a lot better."

"I'm just scared she does something stupid... She's barely thinking straight and what if someone takes advantage of her?"

"If she does something silly, well then she does, and you will have to deal with it, sorry we will deal with it," she shook her head at the slight mis-wording. She knew it would take her quite a while to actually think of them as a couple and deep down she was concerned that, well her big mouth would get them into trouble. Big trouble.

"I'm just still trying to get used to the fact that I'm in charge of her now, I have to look after her... Make sure she is alright and safe..."

"I know and that's why we are sitting here... Because you need some help, and that's okay to say you need help!" Felicity reasoned as she studied his face which was full of worry and concern all focused on his little sister, something which she was sure she would recognise in her own one whenever she thought or was worried about Roy. "And because you can't always be at her side that's why I think my friend Nyssa should be her bodyguard. She's quite a character but is fiercely protective and loyal. You both can meet her before it is all settle and sorted out but I'm sure you will find her... I'm not exactly sure how to describe her..." chuckled Felicity not really knowing how to describe one of her good friends.

It took Oliver a moment to contemplate this proposal, an obvious rush of thoughts swirling through his mind which Felicity understood all too well. He knew he needed help and the proof was in the pudding or well by the fact he was sitting in front of her.

"I'd like to meet her first, but if we are going to be working on bringing down the Triad then I would feel a lot better knowing that she was protected and that I didn't have to worry about her," he ran his had through his hair crossing and uncrossing his legs in slight aggravation and discomfortable.

Oliver wasn't used to this, having a woman who had thoughts and inputs, who had the ability to do so. And he was already regretting the lack of time he had spent with Felicity in the last couple of months. She was fierce and loyal and loving but at the same time strong and stubborn. And he was sure he was only beginning to unravel who Felicity Smoak actually was.

"Anyway whilst we are alone, Diggle will be back later, he'll be wary of you to start off with, but I'm sure you will get along when he starts to get to know you... But firstly I think we need to discuss some finer details of this arrangement. For this all to work out we need no holes, no one to doubt us..."

And just like that Felicity switched to her business mode, fetching her tablet before returning back ready to take notes on what exactly they were planning and what they needed to learn.

Over the next few hours they discussed the details. Yes, Oliver needed to stay in her room. Yes, they were not going to tell anyone about their lack of a relationship (Felicity had twitched nervously here, but thankfully Oliver was too absorbed in saying something else that he never noticed). Their relationship was planned out to a tee, them both having a laugh when Felicity decided that they would have both gone to extreme lengths to seek each other's affection out, something which Felicity knew her family would be expecting she had always had little quirks in past relationships. They both sobered up a bit at the marriage discussion, Oliver adamant that it needed to happen pretty quickly for his and Thea's protection. It was something that she knew she needed to discuss with Anatoly, and she vowed to do so in the next few days, they needed to get the ball rolling.

She had not expected him to pull out a ring from his pocket right there and then. It was a beautiful ring at that. He mumbled saying something about how it had been his Mother's, this beautiful, gold ring with two emeralds nestled either side of a gorgeous diamond. It wasn't too small or too large but emitted a certain air of class. It was perfect and it made Felicity wonder if they would ever have found each other again after all these months. If he hadn't been a member of the Triad, or she Bratva.

Looking at the ring, sparkling in the sunlight she could help but think what it could have been like if he had given this ring to her in a real proposal? It could have been a possibility, if they weren't so stubborn. She had always been attracted to him and even as he sat beside her now she definitely thought that she felt something, but realistically she knew she was just giddy, the thought of the data grounding her back to the present. She needed to stay calm and focused, to not get carried away. And before she really knew what to say to Oliver had her hand and was pushing that gorgeous ring on to her finger. Surprisingly, it fit her well, just slightly loose, but for the mean time it was just perfect.

His hand remained on hers and for the rest of the conversation she didn't move it, she didn't feel the need to, and well, it seemed neither did he.

END CHAPTER

A/N - Ah thanks so much for a great response to my last chapter! Hopefully you have enjoyed this new chapter and it is a nice way to ease ourselves into the new series starting on Wednesday! I just cannot wait for all the Olicity goodness!

Thanks again to so-caffeinated for being a great beta and reading this over for me and to 11-dino for being my fabulous cheerleader!

I hope you enjoyed this and look forward to what is coming next! If you can to keep up to date with my progress on this fic you can find me on tumblr as akahazzap!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I just wanted to say thank you so much guys for the great response I have been receiving from this fic! I have absolutely loved writing this fic (even though it has been challenging at times!) and I seriously hope you guys are getting as much entertainment from it as I have!

Also can we just speak about 4x01! I absolutely loved the new episode so much fluff and that last scene oh my jeez!

Anyway thanks so much for reading! And I hope you enjoy how fluffy this chapter is!

11-dino all the fluff is for you!

CHAPTER THREE

Mondays were normally her favourite day of the week, she was usually excited to get back to work, to engross herself in different ways to improve her company and make it even more of a success. But this Monday she would have definitely preferred to stay in her cosy bed, snuggled into her duvet, even if that did mean spending more time in bed with Oliver. Not that she really minded that aspect of their relationship anymore, to be honest their bedroom activities had decreased in awkwardness as the number of nights increased. The few nights Felicity had barely slept and she knew Oliver was the same, the bags under his eyes proof enough. Thankfully, after the third or fourth night the awkwardness had seemed to somehow disappear and now she didn't mind slipping between the covers with him, to sleep that is. Only to sleep. She would be lying if she hadn't thought of anything other happening under the sheets. Several times she had to stop those thoughts pretty abruptly, knowing that if they continued it would be a recipe for disaster. And right now her life was already complicated enough without adding any more drama into it.

But this Monday, more specifically this morning she had woken up with the same uneasy feeling which she had grown all to accustomed to ever since Oliver had stepped into her life and changed it so drastically. Thankfully, that feeling disappeared after a few moments and she was completely content, lying on her side, her eyes still shut as she tried to delay the inevitable fact that she would have to get up shortly.

She snuggled into the bed further, pulling the blanket closer to her. But she froze suddenly, only realising that Oliver was still in the bed next to her or more important right up against her. Oliver's back was plastered against her and his hand loosely settled on her stomach under her pyjama shirt. Well that was certainly different. Over the last couple of mornings she had grown used to feeling Oliver up against her in bed, but his hand on her bare skin, that was definitely new. She felt a sudden rush inside her, as she settled back against him, relaxing into his hold as his breath tickled her shoulder. If she was going to wake up like this, so close to such a beautiful man then the least she could do was savour the feeling. And that was all it really took for her to drift back off to sleep, something which never happened in the mornings, especially on a Monday morning.

It was a loud shout that woke her rather rudely from her doze back off to sleep. She managed to open her eyes blearily and turn towards Oliver, nudging him in a bid for him to get whoever the hell was in their room to go the hell away. She was comfy, and could do with a few more minutes kip. It was only when the person spoke again that she realised who exactly was in her room.

"Felicity, you need to get up now-" exclaimed her... her mother? Oh god that was most definitely her mother's voice.

Felicity leapt up from where she was pretty much lying draped all over Oliver. She stumbled out of their bed, plastering her glasses on her face so that she could see what an earth was going on. What the hell was her mother doing in their room at this time in the morning?

"Mum! What the hell are you doing in my room at... At seven am?!" Felicity shrieked as her eyes darted around the room trying to find out what the time was and why an earth her mother was here, in her bedroom of all places so early.

"Well you have your announcement today don't you?! Your press conference about your engagement! I knew I needed to come over and make sure that you were wearing something appropriate, and not just a shirt and a skirt!" remarked Donna as she flung Felicity's wardrobe open and started searching through all her dresses.

Unsurprisingly, Donna had been absolutely thrilled to discover Felicity and Oliver's engagement, she had promptly thrown her arms, around the pair of them before allowing her mouth to spout idea after idea on weddings and what would be the absolute most perfect wedding ever. Anatoly on the other hand had been less thrilled with the prospect of gaining Oliver as a step-son-in-law. They, of course, exchanged a few sharp words before it erupted in a rather heated argument, but once Anatoly had met Oliver and Thea at that extremely awkward family dinner a few Sunday's ago, Anatoly had seemed to calm down a bit and was only now beginning to speak to Felicity again.

"You know you could have told us yesterday at dinner you wanted to come over and help me," grumbled Felicity as she stood still watching her mother who was deeply in grossed in her mission to find Felicity the perfect dress.

"Well that doesn't matter now I'm here anyway," mused Donna as she spun around a few dresses in her arm. It was only then that she caught a glimpse of Felicity, a look of disgust forming immediately on her face. "Oh god Felicity, what an earth are you wearing?"

Confused by this sudden change in direction of conversation Felicity looked down at her usual bedroom attire: a short pair of pyjamas with a hilarious motto, this pair saying "sealed with a kiss" with a large seal on the top. Felicity glanced quickly at Oliver to see if he understood what an earth her mother's problem was, but he shrugged from where he sat on their crumpled bed. He had become used to Felicity's rather unique nightwear rather quickly and now he always seemed to make a comment and joke about them.

"When you were fourteen pyjamas like that were cute. But now that you are twenty five and engaged?! Not so cute and definitely not suitable... Oliver?! How an earth do you put up with this?" asked Donna appalled turning her head to see what Oliver made of Felicity's immature pyjamas. Thankfully, Oliver didn't say anything in reply, he was too busy staring at Donna in shock of this sudden outburst. This was his first time seeing Donna in what Felicity liked to call her 'hypocritical' mode and to say that he was surprised was an understatement. "I'm surprised you managed to catch Oliver wearing that! Let alone even getting any! This afternoon or evening I'm taking you into town and we are going to get you some new, more appropriate and adult nightwear, and we may as well through in some decent lingerie, I wouldn't even like to think what kind of comedic pants you are still wearing!"

"Mum! Stop talking! Right now!" screeched Felicity turning a mortified shade of red as she hide her face.

It was like she was a teenager all over again, her mother did not have the right to mock her own choice of underwear or pyjamas and it really reminded her exactly why they had both fallen out so much in the past. Donna liked to get involved in areas which were not her concern and when Felicity needed her and actually wanted her opinions Donna was nowhere to be found. But this, this was taking things to a new level, she was twenty-five for god sakes!

Felicity groaned in mortification before peeking out between her fingers as she watched her mother go back to examining dresses. Oliver, on the other hand, did seem to find both her pyjamas and Mother's controlling nature extremely amusing and he pulled her backwards into a quick hug from behind chuckling loudly at the pair of them. Donna smiled up at the pair of them, obviously happy with their closeness before holding up a rather risqué black number.

"Not that black dress Mom, it's practically backless and definitely not appropriate for a press conference..."

"Well what about this one? You like her in red don't you Oliver?" Donna preened as Oliver pressed a kiss to Felicity's forehead, before dropping his arms and walking over to their en suite. He cast a look back to the second dress Donna had in her hands.

"I do, but maybe not for today, I'm away to take a shower, alright?"

"Uh huh," Felicity nodded, not looking over to him as he disappeared into the bathroom. She shuffled quickly towards her mother, taking the dresses out of her hands and placing them back into the wardrobe, before nudging her mother slightly towards the door. "Look I'll find something to wear and then you can agree if you like it or not, okay? But I need some peace to get ready, so why don't you go downstairs and be useful and make us all a cup of coffee. I am definitely going to need more than my daily dose of caffeine today if I'm going to survive this mare of a press conference!"

Deciding that she wasn't going to win this battle with her daughter Donna, left the room prattling on about dresses and pyjamas before banging on another door which Felicity was positive was Thea's room. It may be selfish but Donna was the least that Felicity had wanted to put up with today, running her hands across her cheeks, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. She needed some peace right now if she was even going to survive the day. Her mother's excitement had caused her nerves to build and even though both her and Oliver had agreed on this, on everything and that she was doing this for well the greater good she couldn't help but long that somehow she would be able to get out of this malarkey before the press conference in two hours time. It was definitely an ambitious thought to say the least.

Felicity wasn't by herself for long before Oliver emerged from the bathroom, a towel tied loosely around his hips. He rose his eyebrows at her suggestively a smirk on his lips.

"Don't even think of saying anything," scowled Felicity, still clearly embarrassed by her mother. Her eyes dropping down to his hips then up his body before moving swiftly back to the dress she was holding.

"I wasn't even going to..." He smirked back acknowledging Felicity's distress as he wandered over to their wardrobe intent in finding a suit for today. Felicity glanced down at him sideways, a few drops of water running down his very bare back. She was positive that she would never get used to that. It's not that she hadn't seen him shirtless, over the last few weeks. She had seen him in various states of undress, numerous times and no matter how many times she saw him she knew she was never going to get use to, well that. It didn't surprise her that his body was unbelievable and she really should have guessed it by the way that his suits clung on him. And his body definitely did not disappoint, his chiselled abs were littered with a couple of tattoos and various scars, all of which she presumed he had accumulated during his undocumented time in Asia. She was thankful at that moment that she didn't have any coffee in her mouth as the first time she had seen him shirtless she had somehow managed to spurt coffee down her top rather ungracefully. Ever since then she had to keep all this looking at his shirtless chest to a minimum, but it didn't help that he liked to wear not a lot often in the mornings and in the evenings and whenever he did any sort of exercise. But well, she guessed she would just have to get used to the shirtlessness.

Huffing she gathered up the purple dress which she had decided to wear in her arms. She stalked into the bathroom not noticing Oliver watch her go. His eyes trailed down her body appreciatively for a few seconds too long than what would have deemed to be acceptable. It was only a moment later when she emerged, muttering a profanity as she hurried over to the bed and picked up a pair of black very risqué pair of pants. Oliver who had turned around when she had re-entered the room was in the middle of putting on a white dress shirt watched her, his eyes lingering slightly on her hand when picked up her underwear.

"Not a word!" stipulated Felicity, not even sparing Oliver a second glance as her cheeks flushed red.

It was clear to Oliver then, that Felicity definitely did not need any new underwear, much to Donna's earlier outburst.

Less than an hour later Felicity found herself in the back of Diggle's car, speeding towards her office. They had eventually managed to leave her Mom escaping any more awkward questions and scenarios much to Felicity's relief and Oliver's loss (for some reason he had found himself drawn to the way that Felicity's blush reached her ears and she avoided his eyes. How sweet she was all hot and well, bothered. He was never really a man to described woman as cute but he seemed to like Felicity just as she was.

Despite all the who ha with her mother, Felicity's nervous had settled back in. Her stomach rolled slightly as she began to fidget, moving around on her seat, alerting Oliver to the fact that she was very much agitated about the upcoming event.

"Are you okay? You seem a little... nervous," He whispered, grasping her hand in his as she rubbed it up and down her leg for the fifth time in less than a minute. Her nerves surprised him. Oliver had seen her on the news countless times for press conferences and never did she seem so... so worked up. She always looked so calm and collected on his TV as he remembered fondly back to an interview which had Felicity answering questions like a pro. It always seemed to him that she excelled under pressure, especially in front of the press (even if she did babble here and there) but it was always something that he had admired about her.

"I'm not nervous about the press conference," Felicity murmured to Oliver. They were sitting very closely in the back of the car, to make sure that their conversation was private between the two of them and so that Diggle wouldn't be able to hear them. "This just makes us so official, and the last four weeks have been a complete whirl wind... We both know this is just going to make everything worse, the paps will be following us and how are we even going to get anything done with the Triad?"

"Hey hey calm down Felicity," he muttered back throwing one arm around her back and the other one landing softly in her knee drawing soothing circles on to her bare skin. "You've been working hard on the data, so stop being so hard on yourself, you'll made many small break through a and I'm sure that will only continue... You just have to be patient. And the paps, well... they will get bored of us pretty quickly. There is always someone more interesting, someone doing something more outrageous. We just need to sit tight for a while, go out on a couple of low key dinners and that will be enough to keep them off our backs. And in terms of the Triad I spoke to Anatoly, I'm going to be working with him some days so that will start that bowl rolling too..."

"When did that happen?" asked Felicity shocked.

They had previously mentioned Oliver becoming more involved with the Bratva and that was part of their eventual plan, but Felicity had never expected anything to happen. To be honest, Felicity was surprised that Oliver was really interested in getting in so deep with the Bratva, after all he had been trying to leave the Triad. But once the Triad fell would he realistically be able to leave the Bratva if he was so heavily involved? Ever since his proposal Felicity had been certain that once this war was over, that he would leave her because that would be the end of their agreement. But the more he got involved with the Bratva the more difficult that would become, and she knew that, as did he.

"I spoke to him last night when you were with your Mum and Thea. And don't worry I know exactly what I'm doing..." He said as he looked down at her.

Over the past few weeks he had somehow manage to become more in tune to her and he put that down to all the time they were spending together. He had learnt that whenever she was worried or unsure she could bite her bottom lip, something she was doing at that exact moment. He squeezed her hand ending that conversation and they went back to sitting in silence as they made their way to Smoak Industries. At least she did feel a little better as she rested her head on his shoulder, his fingers still running soothing circles in her thigh. The one thing that she liked about this engagement, this marriage, was the fact that she had company, someone to help her get through the day and share her burdens with. And she knew it would be something that she sorely missed once their relationship ended.

It wasn't long before they were riding up the elevator from the private car park and walking through the many offices to her own one, Oliver's hand firmly grasped in her own. They were just approaching her office door when Felicity's work colleague Curtis appeared, surprised written all over his face.

"Felicity... Mr Queen...?" Curtis greeted them, evidently confused at why Oliver Queen was with her.

It was only the second time that Oliver had ever visited Felicity in her office. The first time many months previously and Felicity would have been surprised if Curtis even remembered that time he had snuck in. But this was Oliver's first official visit since their 'relationship' had started. And it seemed by Curtis's shocked expression that not many people at all were aware that they were engaged, or in fact in a relationship at all, not that that was really surprising.

"Hi Curt, hope you had a nice weekend," Felicity smiled warmly choosing to ignore the massive elephant (or Oliver) in the room. Curtis followed them into her office, closing the door swiftly behind him.

"So is it true?! Melissa from public relations told me that you had cleared your entire schedule this morning for a press announce, and now you turn up here with Oliver Queen! I knew something was going on with!" proclaimed Curtis his hands flying up in the air as he spoke in rapid succession. He watched Felicity carefully as she took off her jacket and hung it up, Oliver taking a seat on one of the couches in her office.

"Is what true?" asked Felicity not even looking up at Him as she began to boot up her computer. Curtis was another interesting character in her life to say the least. Her work colleague was full of life, and at times a gossip, the one thing that Felicity didn't really appreciate about him but he did at least manage to keep a secret if she asked him. When Felicity had first interviewed and met him he had come with a glowing reference from one of the most prestigious companies in Coast City, and Felicity thought it would have been rude not to employ him. And after the last three years she was glad that she had. He was efficient, extremely efficient and the fact that he had been so concerned about her whereabouts the Wednesday of her 'kidnapping' at least highlighted his loyalty to her.

"Oh my god. Why an earth am I just finding out about this just now?" shrieked Curtis as he ran towards her and picked up her left hand, admiring the large ring on her finger. "Oliver Queen?! Felicity! How have you managed to keep this one a secret?! That man is a god!"

"And that man is sitting on my couch, right over there..." mused Felicity nodding towards Oliver who was just watching the conversation amusement on his face. He seemed to be watching Felicity a lot these days.

"When and how did he propose?! And that ring is absolutely gorgeous! How am I just finding out about this now?" Curtis continued, still ignoring the fact that Oliver was in the room with him.

"Well now that's a funny story, you know when I disappeared that Wednesday, well that's when Oliver proposed," smiled Felicity warmly as she logged into her computer. They had decided that Felicity's disappearance would be a perfect explanation for their engaged. They had changed the story up a little bit because being kidnapped wasn't exactly a perfect engagement story but the one which they had cooked up had Donna swimming in excitement.

"Felicity! Are you telling me that you left that Wednesday to get engaged without telling me? I was worried sick when you didn't come back to lunch! And I knew you had gone out without Diggle! You should have just told me I almost called the police because it was so unlike you!" he exclaimed, his demur turning from excitement to upset, and it made Felicity feel bad, even if it wasn't her fault. "And you were off on a date where you got engaged?! Boy I need a drink!"

"Well she didn't know then that I was going to propose," chuckled Oliver from where he sat.

It seemed that that was the moment that Curtis had realised that the Oliver Queen was in the room with them. He opened his mouth and closed it again before he quickly turned and hurried out of the room, the door ricocheting off the frame as his arms swung wildly.

"Oh just ignore Curt," Felicity chuckled as Oliver watching Curtis leave her office, his mouth slightly gapped open, unsure quite what to make of him. "It appears he hasn't quite forgiven me, or well you for kidnapping me that Wednesday... He was in a huff all of that week with me for not telling him about my little jaunt with you, I was hoping that all this engagement malarkey might bring him round a little..."

"Well he seemed fairly happy with the fact that we are engaged, just maybe not with me stealing you away without his permission," laughed Oliver running his hand through his hair, he glanced at his watch. "What time does this all kick off?"

"Well Melissa asked for us to be down there by half nine at the latest, she will want to brief us first and probably give us some sort of idea what questions she will allow us to answer," replied Felicity as she continued to look at something on her computer, trying to distract herself from what she was going to face in less than an hour.

After fiddling around on his phone for ten minutes he looked up to see Felicity staring at him, a frown on her face as she was obviously in deep thought. Her brow crinkled further as she bite her lip, her fingers drumming the desk. Pushing himself up from the couch, he decided he had had enough of Felicity being distressed. He approached her from behind, his hands landing on both of her shoulders squeezing them slightly causing Felicity to jump slightly in shock.

"Come on Felicity," he said, kissing her hair before peering down at her, and boy that was a bad mistake. The dress which she had decided on wearing was a delightful purple colour and had this amazing heart shaped cut out high on her chest, which just showing off some cleavage. But from where he was standing above her and peering down he could see a lot more than he could ever have hoped for. He let out a shaky breath, feeling a sharp jolt down his pants and he looked back up pulling Felicity with him. Now wasn't the time for that. He breathed slowly trying to calm himself down a little, noticing that Felicity was doing the same. "Let's just go and get this over with..."

Without saying anything in reply Felicity fumbled to her feet, following him out of her office and to the lift where they would make their way down several floors to where the press would no doubly be eagerly waiting their appearance. Somewhere on the journey his hand found its way to the small of her back, which she found that she liked, it made her feel safer and more grounded and aware of what was going on. As they approached Melissa's office Felicity reached out for his hand without even realising it, instantly feeling better when his thumb rubbed her palm.

"Felicity, hi! How are you doing?" smiled Melissa warming shaking her hand. It had been a few years since Felicity had really needed to have such a personal meeting with Melissa, they had worked together frequently but they had never worked as closely together as they had in the last few days. Melissa had phoned her countless times in an attempt to get an accurate statement from Felicity in order to write Felicity's speech. It had been a struggle because Felicity and Oliver had both been not very forward with their relationship (unsurprisingly) and Felicity could tell that Melissa was eagerly waiting for the press conference to be over once and for all.

"I'm... I'm alright," smiled Felicity nervously as Oliver continued his torturous rubbing of small circles on her hand, grounding her, but at the small time winding something else up deep inside of her.

"She's just nervous about the possibility of paps following us," remarked Oliver, releasing Felicity's hand to shake Melissa's. "I'm Oliver Queen, nice to meet you..."

"Mr Queen it's my pleasure, now I just thought we should have a discussion about what's going to happen today," replied Melissa, marching straight on to the task at hand, flicking through a couple of pieces of paper. "So Felicity you will be reading a short version of the statement, and I have the longer one with more details which we will be releasing after the press conference. As usual the press will have questions but as normal don't feel pressured to answer any you don't feel comfortable with..."

"Remind me why I agreed to do this again?" remarked Felicity, laughing sourly, a haunted look on her face. Oliver pulled her into his side, making her feel slightly better.

"Well you have only been seen together in public, a few times several months ago, and with the tragic deaths of Mr and Mrs Queen a month ago, Oliver has been MIA, a press conference is the best way to show your affection and get the word out quickly that Mr Queen isn't just after your money..." Melissa eyed Oliver warily, seemingly to try and sense if this was the case which caused Felicity to move closer to Oliver and almost wrap herself in him.

"That was a rhetorical question," Felicity replied sharply, narrowing her eyes slightly, definitely not appreciating how judgmental Melissa was.

Unfortunately Felicity had expected this to happen, as did Oliver. It was another thing that they had discussed, how the public would see their relationship. And it didn't really matter how the public saw them, just the Triad and they both knew that the ring on her finger would be enough to keep his protected for the mean time. But even if it didn't matter how the public saw them or the Triad, it did make a difference to her company. The company that Felicity and her father had worked so hard on and Felicity would be damned if this relationship had a devastating effect on her work.

"My apologies Miss Smoak," Melissa replied testily aware that she had upset Felicity. "I'll just go and make sure that everything is set up and ready..."

She quickly hurried from the room, stumbling slightly as she tripped over her heel as she attempted to get as far away as possible from Felicity and Oliver.

"So it looks like I am going to be portrayed as the naive girl who lets men walk all over her... Again..." curst Felicity.

"You know Melissa can spin this story anyway we want it..." remarked Oliver carefully, he really didn't know if that was in her ability, but at the current moment saying this seemed like the best way to calm Felicity down.

"I know, but it's obviously too much for me to manage to actually attract someone for me and not my money or my company."

Felicity grimaced tartly, pushing herself up from the chair she was sitting next to Oliver on. It wasn't fair that they always thought that she only attracted men for her wealth, after the breakdown of her relationship with Ray he had completed several interviews all of which highlighted Felicity in a negative light. She had read a few snip bits before her best friend Caitlin had found her in her bed a tub of half-melted mint chocolate chip ice cream next to her and she had forbidden her to read anymore.

"Well I suppose it's a bonus then that I'm only after you for your protection then?" smirked Oliver as he watched her pace.

She wasn't the only one finding this hard. Oliver was just far better at keeping his feelings hidden than she was. He hated the press with a passion, his past escapades as a playboy enough reason to have a strong dislike. Ever since he had returned from his five year jaunt in Asia he had been wary of the paps and he somehow had managed to become a pro at avoiding them. It had helped that in the last few years since his return his family's company had run into various problems and the press had become very interested in the Queens, especially Oliver. But once they realised he wasn't up to his usual playboy activities their interest dwindled drastically.

"I didn't mean it like that Oliver," sighed Felicity, taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes, she knew that she would feel better once this was all over and it wasn't like she wasn't protected. Diggle had stepped up his protection on the house and they both knew that Thea was safe with Nyssa who seemed to be managing amazingly with the moody teenager. "I just need this to be over now, I thought Anatoly was going to be the most difficult but maybe I was wrong, what with the Triad and all... I'm worried about Roy and Thea..."

"You shouldn't worry, I know the Triad and this will set them back and give us some more time," replied Oliver he pulled her hands into his and pulled her closely resting his chin on the top of her head, she was just so small and even though he had gone to her for protection he felt that he needed to look after her, protect her. "Trust me...

"For some reason I do," she let out a shaky breath as she listened to his heart beating slowly in his chest. His arms wrapped around her, and hers him. They just stood there both taking comfort in the presence of each other.

Five minutes later they were interrupted by a small cough, Diggle had appeared and his face was unreadable for Oliver, but Felicity knew it well. His brow was raised slightly, and a small smile forming at his lips. For some reason it seemed that Dig had become more open to the relationship between Oliver and Felicity and Felicity didn't really understand why.

"They are ready for you now..." Diggle smiled, leaning on the door as he watched Oliver slowly release Felicity before pulling her back into his side, his hand lingering again on the small of her back.

"Thanks John," she smiled as they passed him, and he reached out pulling her quickly into a hug.

"Go get them girl."

Diggle saying that was saying something. He always said those four words before every press conference and it some how managed to give her that final boost of confidence that she needed. She jutted her head high when he let her go, and searched for Oliver's hand. As soon as she had it tightly in hers she knew she was ready.

The cameras almost blinded the pair as they made their way onto the stage, both of them standing behind the small podium which had been erected for the press conference. The calming presence of Oliver by her side made her feel slightly better and she took a large deep breath before starting her speech.

She began updating the press on the various changes in the company, speaking about the new piece of tech that she had been working on and how hopeful they were that it would be picked up by several companies.

The press listened mostly but she could hear the murmurs amongst the press, not quite understand why Oliver Queen was at her side. A few people shouted out questions "Mr Queen why are you here?" and "are you in a relationship with Mr Queen, Miss Smoak?" But she ignored them, carrying on.

She paused for a moment when it was time for her to move on and announce their engagement. She felt Oliver's hand move against hers behind the podium and she let out a small smile allowing her to feel his comfort before continuing on. Five minutes later she was letting out a deep sigh of relief, happy with the fact her speech was over.

"Well done," Oliver whispered in her ear as she smiled shyly up at him, his hand caressing her lower back.

There was a flurry of flashes for a moment, several photographers trying to catch the moment on camera, before Melissa introduced the questions. Unsurprisingly, all the questions asked were centred on their budding relationship, details about the wedding, how Oliver was coping with the loss of his parents and even if she was pregnant. It shouldn't have surprised her really, after all their wedding was scheduled for a month's time and for most people in the limelight pregnancies did seem to be one of the main contributing factors to a quick wedding. A woman with striking red hair who asked the question didn't look like she quite believed Felicity's reply, that she wasn't pregnant, and it just made Felicity think about how glad that she wasn't. Bringing a baby into their lives would be an even bigger complication, one which Felicity certainly didn't want for quite some time. To be honest it made relieved, that her sex life was non-existent. It had been forever since her relationship with Ray and having sex with Oliver? Yep that wasn't going to happen. It was something that they hadn't really discussed but she knew they both had a mutual understanding that engaging in an intimate relationship was definitely off the cards, no matter what had happened in the past.

It only took them a few moments after the press conference to find themselves back in the lift, Diggle accompanying them.

"So I think that went better than expected?" smiled Felicity as the elevator jerked into life and they began to speed upwards. "Well I mean apart from the pregnancy question because there is no way that you are going to put a baby in me!"

"Felicity..." Oliver chuckled, warningly glancing over to Diggle who was thankfully still facing the elevator door away from them. Now wasn't the time to discuss children, or their non-existent sex life, especially if they wanted to keep Diggle in the dark.

"I would greatly appreciate if you didn't have this conversation, with me present," drawled Diggle, not even turning around to acknowledge them.

"Of course John, because you don't want to know about our non-existent sex life-" mused Felicity, her eyes opening wide as she realised what exactly she had said. "Not that our sex life is non-existent. Not at all because what kind of engaged couple would we be if we didn't have sex?!"

"Felicity!" Oliver scoffed louder this time, breaking her out of her tandem.

"Sorry John... I'll- I'll just stop talking now..." she choked, blushing Oliver's favourite shade of red, as Oliver gave her a rather pointed look. She was just digging herself into a bigger hole and the quicker she stopped talking the sooner she would stop having to get herself out of it.

They met Curtis pushing himself up from his desk, as they made their way back to Felicity's office.

"Amazing, Felicity! As per usual!" He remarked as he moved to hug Felicity quickly, a news feed on his computer playing a loop of the press conference as breaking news. "You looked to die for in that dress! Oliver couldn't keep his eyes off you!"

"Thanks Curt, I appreciate it," she smiled returning his hug briefly. "Can you make sure no-one disturbs us for half an hour? We've just got a couple of stuff to sort out before my meeting later..."

"Oh sure Felicity, no problem!" winked Curtis as he almost pushed both Felicity and Oliver into her office, clearly taking their need for some alone time the wrong way.

"Curtis! We're not-"

"Don't worry my lips are sealed! I won't tell a soul I promise!"

And with that the large oak door thumped shut, Diggle was left outside guarding the room.

"Great and now they both think that we are having a quickie in my office of all places! If we were actually having one here, right now, then what kind of example would I be setting to my staff? Not one which I would want..." She huffed, frustratedly.

"Felicity, I'm sure no-one is thinking that's what we are doing-" she glared at him, making him aware that even if he was lying to make her feel slightly better at this moment in time she didn't appreciate it. "Well maybe Diggle and Jerry do but-" "And the whole office building, but that doesn't really matter... Maybe it will give the illusion we can't keep our hands off each other which is why we are getting married so quickly..." muttered Felicity sitting down in her chair behind her desk, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a minute. It was only then that she realised she had left her phone on her desk before the press conference and it was pinging continuously. Oliver looked over at her phone questioningly. "I set up some alerts for us and it seems that we have most definitely made the headlines, at least the Triad will hopefully take a step back... But I still told Nyssa to be extra wary with Thea today, they might do something rash..." "They won't because they know that if they do then they will be starting an even bigger war with the Bratva..."

But before they could continue their conversation they were rudely interrupted by the oak door thudding against the wall, they both quickly turned their heads, seeing a tall woman come bursting into the room, Curtis running quickly after her, waving his hands in the air.

"Felicity Megan Smoak!" called the young woman, tottering slightly on her heels, who Oliver quickly remembered was Caitlin, her best friend.

"I'm sorry Felicity I tried to stop her coming in but-" Curtis glanced up then realising that both Felicity and Oliver were fully clothed and they had not in fact interrupted anything that they shouldn't have. He headed out of the room backwards taking his time. "Oh you're clothed, good... I guess I'll just go back to work then..."

"Caitlin!" called Felicity in surprise, pushing herself up from her chair and accepting a hug from her best friend. "What are you doing here?!"

"I just finished my nightshirt and thought I would surprise you with a coffee, when I heard on the radio that you were engaged?!" proclaimed Caitlin skeptically as she released Felicity from a hug and thrust one of the two coffee cups into Felicity's hand before running her eyes suspiciously over Oliver. "I know it's been too long since I last spoke to you but work as been driving me up the wall. But imagine my surprise when I find out that not only does my best friend have a boyfriend but you have a fiancee as well!"

"Ah... yeah sorry about that..." said Felicity rubbing her eyes tiredly under her glasses as she took a sip of her favourite coffee. "I've kind of been a bit busy since I last talked to you..." "Well I can definitely see that! Busy getting a boyfriend and getting engaged!" remarked Caitlin not believing that this could have happened in the short period of time since they had last spoken to each other.

"Well... Yeah that might be because... Well this has been going on longer than you think...?" Felicity replied scrunching up her face, another lie stumbling out her mouth.

"I knew it! I knew as soon as I saw you two in that cafe back in April that something was going on! You were definitely sitting far too close to each other and then when you said you were 'just friends' I knew it was a lie!" Caitlin threw her hands up in triumph. "And it was him that I saw you with that night wasn't it?! I couldn't make out who it was because you were half way down the street... But he definitely had his hands all over you and his tongue down your throat..." "Caitlin!" shrieked Felicity, eventually silencing Caitlin.

Felicity blushed a furious red at that memory. It had been a couple of weeks after they had first met at the Gala and she had bumped into Oliver, for what would have been the third time that week. Felicity had been going over to visit Caitlin, something which she tried to do every couple of weeks, when the kiss had happened. It had been a lovely evening for April, so she had decided to walk over by herself as she had already sent home Diggle for the night. It was only as she was walking through the park that she literally bumped into him, and he had grasped her, pulling her up against his body to stop her from falling over. She was grateful, of course, and they had started walking together, talking and laughing. It was obvious that they had some sexual chemistry and tension. Felicity had felt it ever since she had first met him, and it had grown insistently over that month. They had walked for over an hour, before Felicity realised that no matter how much she was enjoying her time with Oliver that she most definitely had to go and see Caitlin, otherwise she would worry. And that's when he was on her, his hands cradling her face and pulling her lips to his. It took her a moment to realise what actually was happening before she relaxed, allowing her mouth to open slightly as his tongue ran along her bottom lip, her hands reaching up to his shoulders, pulling slightly on the back of his neck, forcing him to move further down towards her, allowing her to have easier access. They only parted when they ran out of breath, and she was panting slightly, her eyes locking with his. It was a nice kiss, hell an amazing kiss between them and he had promised he would see her soon because she really had to leave. They had only seen each other a couple of times since that night and not in the way that Felicity had hoped.

It was Oliver that broke her out of her thoughts, squeezing her hand before wrapping her all up in one of his hugs from behind.

"I think I'll just leave the pair of you too it," smirked Oliver?

Oliver reached down to give Felicity a kiss on the lips and Felicity felt the same tingly feeling she did all those months ago. It was over before it even began though, much to Felicity's shock. She didn't really know what to make of Oliver's display of affection, especially after Caitlin had mentioned their one and only kiss. "It was nice seeing you again Caitlin, maybe we can meet up before another gala..."

"I'll be back for tea Oliver..." called Felicity as Oliver left, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

"What an earth Felicity?!" smirked Caitlin, flopping onto the couch as Felicity sunk down next to her, still slightly struck dumb by the kiss. "What has been going on with you?!"

"I honestly have no idea Caitlin..." Felicity trailed off.

Because what was really going on with her life? To be honest Felicity didn't really know, and trying to explain everything without Caitlin knowing about this farce of a relationship, well that was definitely going to be impossible.

END CHAPTER

A/N: Thanks again if you made it to the end! I would love to hear your thought on my fic both good and constructive!

If you would like to follow more of my story updates or my thoughts on arrow you can also find me as akahazzap on both tumblr and Twitter!

Thanks again!


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Over the next few weeks Oliver and Felicity settled into a comfortable routine. Felicity would get up, go to work, then return home. They would have dinner together every night and then she would hide herself away in her study working on decoding the important data. The past weeks had been stressful, to say the least. After cracking some of the data and discovering that a shipment of humans would be arriving in Starling, Felicity had alerted both Oliver and Anatoly, neither who were too shocked by the revelation. (It was a well known fact that the Triad were viciously into human trafficking, one area which the Bratva, or at least the branch Felicity was involved in stayed well clear of). By the end of Felicity's revelation both Oliver and Anatoly had come to a mutual understanding and had set off to begin to make arrangements for an intervention. Oliver taking charge of the ground work whilst Anatoly hid behind the walls of his own home, something he had been doing more and more frequently as of late.

It had surprised Felicity how nervous she was when Oliver had left her that evening to go to the docks. Even though she had direct contact with him at all times through her new and updated comm system she couldn't help shake off the dreaded feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew she was nervous, all her usual signs were there, babbling, biting her lower lip insistently and her fingers drumming unnecessarily on her keyboard. What would she do if something happened to him? Thea would never forgive her, it would all be her fault if something happened too as she was the reason that Oliver was now heavily involved with the Bratva... And... and how would she cope? She was only beginning to come to turns with their relationship. She enjoyed spending time with him, having dinner with him, waking up with him every morning...

Ever since their press announcement they had begun to increase the time they spent together. She always looked forward to him visiting her at work for a lunch or coffee break. And she thought it was mutual, their enjoyment. They had had a previous discussion about the couple of times they had met before his parents death and their engagement, not that they ever discussed that kiss. She never really understood why Oliver never approached her after that... The more time they spent together now the more she suspected that maybe he had felt the same way as her. That he had felt the sexual tension between them all those months ago. It seemed, however, that they had a mutual understanding between the two of them that they wouldn't discuss it now, their lives were already difficult enough as it was. But over the last few weeks Felicity's feelings had continued to develop. She longed to spend all her evenings with Oliver, just enjoying his company, sharing some wine or ice cream. And that was exactly what she hoped they would do when he came back that evening.

Thankfully, the mission in the docks had been a fairly easy one, they had taken the Triad by surprise, that was evident enough by the small amount of men that the Triad had out in the field. Even after Oliver had announced that the field was clear and he was heading home Felicity couldn't help but still feel anxious in the pit of her stomach. She had spent the whole hour, waiting for him to come home safe in the bathroom, attempting to calm herself down. She wasn't used to feeling like that. Whenever Anatoly or Roy went out on a mission she was worried, yes, but the feeling of dread and what if the mission went south and they were killed... She had definitely never really considered that.

After calming herself down slightly, she managed to emerge from the bathroom and poured a large glass of wine, downing it quickly before re-filling her glass. It was only when she hear the creak of their front door and Oliver's loud footsteps that she could let out a large sigh, her eyes locking with his as soon as she saw him lingering in the doorway. She wasn't sure if it was a mixture of exhaustion, or panic or the fact that she hadn't eaten all day which lead her to run at him and fling herself towards him, her arms locking around his neck as she buried her face in his t-shirt, taking another deep sigh, inhaling his scent, which recently had become a massive comfort to her. It took him a moment before his arms banded around her, pulling her closer to him as his hands found her back, rubbing soothing circles. The pause in his actions made it obvious that she had taken him by surprise, but at least he hadn't pushed her away.

It was a long while until they parted slightly awkwardly. Felicity making an excuse about needing to go and check something on her computer. She never saw him that night when she went to bed and not the next morning either. He was up and away before even she rose, something that had been happening more and more frequently over the last week. She knew Oliver was disappearing somewhere, that much was obvious to her.

It was later than normal when she arrived home from an exhausting shift at work and she was all ready to get a large glass of red wine, have a takeout with Oliver, then sit at her computer to get some more of that data analysed.

"Is Oliver here?" asked Felicity as she shrugged off her coat hanging it on the stairs before pushing her heels off, wiggling her toes in an attempt to regain some of the feelings in her feet.

"He was earlier... But I believe he went out about an hour ago."

"Oh he said he'd be home when I got back..." Felicity replied, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Where was Oliver? She had grown accustomed to his friendly smile and a nice meal together, sometimes with a quiet and extremely moody Thea sitting next to them (that part she didn't enjoy as much, but she was his sister so she just had to deal with that...).

Felicity left Diggle in the hall and made her way to the kitchen towards that new bottle of wine that had her name written all over it. No way was she going to wait for Oliver to come home to open it. If he wanted some of this delicious red wine then he better hurry up and join her! It was only after she sat down on the stool at the breakfast bar with her glass that she noticed a hastily written note next to their fruit bowl.

Just had to run out for a moment. Hopefully I will be back before you get home from work but if not be ready for seven, it's about time I took you out for dinner. O x

Seven?! She turned round quickly glancing at the clock on the cooker, almost falling off her stool when realising the time was 18:45. Regaining her balance quickly she picked up her phone dialling Oliver. There was no way in hell that she was going to be ready or even look acceptable for a... a meal... or could she even call it a date...? with Oliver?

Scrambling off her stool her phone still ringing, Felicity bounded up the stairs flinging the bedroom door open in a hasty attempt to speed up her getting ready process. Her phone rang off as she wandered into her bathroom. Giving up on calling him she sent him a quick text asking him to call her back immediately before turning the shower on preparing to have one of the fastest showers of her life.

After her shower she was surprised to see that Oliver still hadn't been in touch with her. Attempting to remedy that she redialled him, frowning when it went straight to voice mail. She could feel her concerning rising slightly at his lack of contact. Where was he? This wasn't Oliver... They were both aware of the danger which the other faced because of the Triad and both kept tabs on each other whenever they were apart. It was only the other week that Oliver had burst into her office, concern written all over her face because she wasn't answering her phone. They had had stern, very loud words after that. Both agreeing to have their phones constantly on loud. So why wasn't he answering now?

By the time it reached quarter past seven, Felicity was ready to go and she decided to go and find Diggle to get him on the case. Deciding that she should at least try one last time she picked up her phone, dialling his number and holding it against her ear with her shoulder. It almost rang off again but she was surprised to hear an angsty Oliver on the other end.

"What?!" he snarled, his breathing heavy as if he was running or just recovering from a rather fast sprint. She was startled by the loud angry voice in her ear causing her to jump, her phone slipping to the floor.

"Oh frack!" She cried, picking up the phone immediately. "Oliver?!

"Felicity?" His voice softened on the other side but she could still her him panting. "Oh shit... I'm sorry Felicity... I'll be there as soon as I can..."

"Are you alright?! You sound out of breath?! I've been trying to call you for ages!" She exclaimed, narrowing her eyes as she tried to work out what exactly he was doing.

"Sorry... I've just had a few things to-" he stopped speaking immediately as another voice floated through the phone, somebody was speaking to Oliver. The deep, low voice definitely belonged to a man. "One moment Felicity..."

And then there was shuffling, his hand over the receiver preventing her from hearing what he was discussing, with this deep, low voice. She could make out a few words, "Bratva"... "triad"... "data... "Anatoly" and she heard her name in amongst the words too. What an earth was he doing talking about all that to someone else...? She knew it wasn't her father his voice was of a lower pitch on the phone, and definitely not her mother or Thea or even Roy. They were all having dinner together something which Diggle had been harping on about when he was driving her home. She then heard (well what she presumed) was a car door slamming.

"Hey... Sorry about that Felicity, I'll be back in ten minutes. Are you still ready to go out?"

"Oliver? What's going on? Are you okay? I've been trying to phone you for over half an hour and you weren't answering!" Her voice was frantic as she ran her fingers through her hair, ignoring his questions. She couldn't cope with all these secrets, she needed to know what was going on. What was he doing?

"Hey, I'm alright Felicity," he replied softly turning the engine on, beginning to drive home. "I'll explain when I get back, just... just be ready for going out for dinner..."

She took a deep breath, listening to him breathing for a moment. Realistically, she knew that whatever Oliver was going to say to her was either going to be a lie or an abstract version of the truth. All she really wanted was there to be nothing between them at all, no lies, not anything. Their relationship was already full of lies that the least she thought they could be was be truthful to one another.

"Okay... I'll see you when you get back..." She murmured.

Oliver hung up first allowing her to stare at herself in her vanity mirror, pausing in thought. She didn't want to have an argument with Oliver, but she had that feeling that if they did truly explore what he was doing then there would be shouting, and words thrown haphazardly at each other which neither really meant.

And what would happen if they did argue? If it caused a devastating split in their relationship? How would she explain that to her parents? And Thea? An argument between the two of them would affect everyone and make this whole arrangement even more complicated than before, if that was even possible. To be honest that funny feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she saw or thought of Oliver was beginning to make their relationship extremely complex, but she knew now wasn't the time to investigate that either.

She was jolted out of her thoughts as a loud beep signalled a new message on her phone from an unknown number.

'Your fiancée is getting up to something in his spare time. I've been following Oliver for weeks now, he isn't the man who you think he is... You are far too trusting of him Felicity, be careful x'

She narrowed her eyes in thought. What was going on? Was someone following Oliver? Did they know about their relationship status?

Pondering for a moment, she thought would it be sensible to reply. She couldn't speak to Dig, or Anatoly and if Oliver was up to something then she couldn't mention this to him either... This person knew both Oliver and her...

"Hey Felicity!" called Oliver as he entered their room behind her jolting her out of her thoughts.

He chuckled at her jumping, before their eyes met in the mirror. Putting the text out of her mind for just now she let out a small smile as she took in his own happy face and ruffled henley. He really was too good looking for his own good.

"You look amazing...!"

His eyes never left hers as he approached her slowly, his arms resting on her shoulders as he bent down to kiss her hair which she had left elegantly in loose waves. She relaxed slightly as he rubbed his thumbs at the base of her neck.

How did he know that was exactly what she needed at the moment? For him to calm her down and allow her to not think about the text, that was something that she would focus on tomorrow, tonight she would hopefully enjoy their evening, as long as he didn't start an argument.

"I called the restaurant and changed our meal to later, I just need to get changed and then we can head there..."

"Sounds good," she smiled happily her left hand squeezing his and her eyes lingered on him as he turned to go and get changed.

They would have their talk later, it would seem.

Within half an hour they were speeding down the road in Oliver's Porsche, his hand resting on the gear stick as Felicity fidgeted with her skirt pulling it down making sure that it was sitting nicely. She was nervous, that much was obvious. How were they going to cope with a romantic meal just the two of them? She loved spending time with Oliver, but she hadn't been seen with him out in public for months, and never had they even been to a restaurant just the two of them. He could obviously feel her nerves radiating off her and his hand found its way onto her knee giving it a comforting squeeze. She smiled, and let out a shaky breath, her mind wandering back to where an earth Oliver was earlier that evening.

"So are you going to tell me where you were earlier?" She asked raising an eyebrow at him questionably and turning her head to look at him as he lifted his hand off her knee to change gears. She could see him gulp uneasily, and he continued to look forward, watching where he was driving and not looking at her.

"I... I just had a few things to check... To do with all the work I have been doing with Anatoly..."

"That's funny, Anatoly, didn't say that you were out on business when I spoke to him earlier..." She replied carefully as he continued to drive, his hands tightening slightly on the steering wheel which was the only sign of his slight distress at her questioning.

"I just had a thought, which I needed to explore before speaking to Anatoly about it..." He looked at her in an attempt to prove that he wasn't lying. She knew he wasn't telling the truth, but it seemed he wasn't telling her an outright lie either. "When I know more... You will be the first to know... I promise..."

She sighed, slightly unhappy with his answer but she knew right now she wasn't going to get any further. She needed to wait for him to tell her more.

Then he was cutting out the engine signalling their arrival at the restaurant. Oliver leaped out of the car and was opening her door before she was even ready, giving her his hand to help her out of the car.

"Thanks," she smiled, her clutch under her left arm as his hand lingered on her back his thumb brushing the cut out sections of the red dress which her mother had been so adamant for her to wear at the press conference. "The Olive Garden?! I haven't been here in ages and you know how much I love Italian..."

"And that's why I chose it..." he chucked as he guided her inside, the waiter at the front immediately guiding them to a table for two at the back of the restaurant which had a lovely view across the river. He helped her into her chair and sat down in his own happily.

"Can we get a bottle of your finest red wine please?" He asked the waiter, his best playboy smile on his lips.

"A man after my own heart..." She smiled warmly her hand resting on his as she pulled her chair in further, trying to edge a bit closer to him.

"Well it would rude not to get any," he chucked, his fingers entwining with hers after he sat his menu down, already having decided what to eat.

"I love Italian so much," moaned Felicity as she thought of pasta and pizza, oh there was always so much to chose from...

"I remembered..." He laughed, leaning back slightly. "I think that was one of the things that you were craving when I first met you, which was why I thought our first proper date should definitely be an Italian!"

"Oh god," she grimaced slightly at the memory of how her wine had loosened her tongue slightly and how the posh canopies had done nothing to quench her hunger. She had longer for a large pasta dish, or pizza, even a burger really. "I can't believe you remember that!"

"Well I remember a lot when it comes to you Felicity..." They were interrupted, unfortunately by their wine arriving and then the waiter took their orders. "You look beautiful tonight, by the way..."

Felicity blushed slightly, squeezing his hand slightly in appreciation.

"Thanks..." She smiled secretively, she could feel her cheeks and ears reddening at his remarks. "I knew you liked this dress after my mum tried to get me to wear it for the press conference... And well I just thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to wear it..."

"Yes... Red definitely does suit you..." His eyes lingered on her hers, before swooping down to admire her red dress further. "How was your day at work today?"

"Stressfully, I've run into a major problem with the prototype and Curtis has been continuing to up his game in arranging for me to meet investors who are interested in it... I seriously am running out of time to do... well everything... And with all the work that I still need to do on your data, I just wish that everything would slow down a little bit... My mom isn't helping either, she is going on and on about the wedding and how I need to be more involved, but I have literally no time for planning! That's why I asked my mom to be in charge!"

She took a deep breath as she finished brushing a couple of blondes stands behind her ear.

"Ah I wouldn't worry about the wedding Felicity, we still have weeks til then and as with your prototype why don't you either employ or promote someone to speak to the investors, or maybe wait a little longer before you release it? To give you more time to work on it? I don't want you to over work yourself Felicity..."

The waiter returned again, a large plate of seafood linguine for her and a meat feast pasta dish for him. She thought carefully at his words, maybe he was right and she was doing to much...

"The prototype is going to have to wait until a while after the wedding anyway... Especially because I have decided that I am going to work harder on cracking more of the data, I've been putting it off too much... But Curtis is a lifesaver I honestly don't know what I would do without him!"

"I know he is Felicity but every night for the last few weeks you have been working on either your prototype or the data... I just don't want you to be too harsh on yourself..."

"But if I don't then... Then we both know that something else will happen... They are murdering people Oliver, and I don't want what happened to your parents to happen to anyone else..."

"You're remarkable, Felicity," he paused for a moment, his eyes filling up with what seemed like love and adoration all for her.

"Well... I guess thank you for remarking on it..." She smiled as she saw him rub his eyes a little, he was touched by her thoughts and still upset about his parents. "Oliver... How are you really coping...?"

He swallowed his mouthful of pasta and their eyes met, the tension between them obvious, but they were in their own little world oblivious to the other couples in the restaurant who were watching them. They had been the talk of Starling since the press conference and it seemed that almost everyone at the restaurant was intrigued by their relationship.

"Better than I was... You honestly don't know how much you have helped me Felicity..."

"Oliver, I have hardly done anything-"

"Don't say that, you know it isn't true... Felicity you have done so much more than I deserve..."

"Stop being silly... you are a good man Oliver... You just need to believe it. And maybe in the past you have got caught up in some bad things and done some things which you regret but... well, so have I and you just need to accept that those things make you, well you..."

"You're too good for me Felicity," her name danced on his tongue as he gave her a smile which he seemed to reserve solely for her. "But there are still some things that I need to sort out, I think we both do..."

She nodded her head in agreement. They both had a lot to work out.

For the rest of their meal their conversations took a lighter note, each of them learning more about the other. Both sharing childhood stories which had them both in fits of laughter, at one point Felicity had tears rolling down her face and Oliver was bent double from laughing. When the waiter had approached them and asked if they would be having pudding it was inevitable that they would say yes. It was Felicity who insisted on them sharing, exclaiming that there was no way that she could fit a whole dish of brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream in her belly. Oliver moved his chair closer to her, so they could share the dish more easily but Felicity was sure that the way his hand had found her thigh extremely quickly and the way he was stroking her bare skin that he had other intensions by moving closer to her.

In the end Felicity ate most of it, well all the ice cream of course and the majority of the brownie, but Oliver didn't really seem to mind, he was too happy to just be with her, in her presence and enjoying time with her.

It was almost midnight by the time they decided to leave the restaurant and head home. They were both silent in the car, content with the way that their night had gone. It still surprised Felicity with how comfortable they had become with each other. Why had she been worried about how their meal would go? It seemed silly now it was over. They never struggled for conversation and well she was glad that they could enjoy an evening together, just the two of them. She hoped that it was a glimpse of how their married life would be. Maybe they could actually make this work? Properly?

She gazed up at him as he held out his hand helping her out of the car and across the chuckies and into the house. It was dark and silent, Thea perhaps in her bed. They lazily walked into the kitchen as he turned on the lights whilst she slipped off her coat and her heels dropping dramatically down in size.

"Thanks Oliver, I'm really glad we did that... I... I had an amazing time," she smiled up at him shyly, trying to show how happy she was with how their night had turned out in her smile.

"You're welcome," he smiled warmly his fingers interlocking with hers and his other hand pulling her into his embrace.

"Amazing food, fantastic wine and great company! What more could a girl ask for," she asked saucily as she looked up at him, the wine loosening her tongue a little.

"Felicity..."

He chuckled, his eyes dipping down to watch her tongue slip out and lick her lips. His eyes darkened a shade and his hand wandered down her back, one resting on her bare skin, the other moving down, further than he had ever done before. She would be lying if she said she didn't want him, right then. All she needed was his lips against hers, she could feel him, every aspect of him flushed up against her, yet it wasn't really enough... she needed more of him.

"Oliver..." She moaned biting her lip as her left hand came up to stroke the back of his neck just below his hair line. And then he was moving his lips moving towards hers, pausing slightly in an attempt to seek her permission and she accepted it, stretched her neck up slightly and finally they were reunited.

This kiss wasn't anything like their first one all those months ago. This one was soft at first in contrast to their first one which was fast and bruising. Their lips dancing together, and it took her a few moments to bravely run her tongue against his lips seeking entrance which he granted her immediately. Her fingers running through his hair as she stretched up on to her tip toes not wanting to break this blissful feeling. His hands pulling her even closer if that was possible, one resting on her ass. She let out a breathy moan as his teeth lipped her slightly before their tongues were battling again.

"Oh god. Do you really have to do that right here?" drawled Thea, rolling her eyes as she wandered passed the startled Felicity and Oliver who had abruptly parted, both confused at what an earth was happening. "I have to be here in this room every day and I eat here and the last thing I want to see his my brother making out, with well you..."

"Thea..." Oliver warned as he watched her saunter to the fridge and grab the orange juice.

"It's disgusting. The pair of you are so sappy and it's just wrong Ollie... Everything about this is so goddam horrible..." Thea's voice was still low but Felicity could hear the crack in. She wasn't coping and with everything that had happened to her in the last couple of months it isn't surprising.

"Thea that's enough." barked Oliver, not impressed with her tone of what she was saying at all. Or the fact that she had interrupted his kiss with Felicity.

"Oliver, it's fine..." whispered Felicity as she squeezed Oliver's hand... "I'm just going to go up stairs... So the two of you can talk..."

She quickly pulled herself out of Oliver's arms and looked at Thea hunched over the cupboard. She lingered for a moment, wondering if it was better if she stayed for this but she knew that they needed to talk alone. Wandering up the stairs and into their bedroom she could hear them, Thea was shouting and Oliver was giving it back, just as good as he was getting.

She was interrupted from getting changed by her phone ringing, the loud nature of it scaring her slightly, she was really getting far too jumpy for her own good. Fumbling in her bag for her phone, she noticed the same number which had text her earlier that day. Before really considering what to do she accepted the call, hoping that now, maybe she would get some answers.

"Hello?" asked Felicity uncertainly into her phone.

"Why aren't you answering my texts Felicity?" emerged a voice that she knew all too well.

"Sara?!" she asked shocked. It was Sara who was following Oliver?! One of Anatoly's informants?

"Are you alone?"

"Wait? Yes I am Sara... What the hell is going on...?"

"Yes who else do you think would be given the bloody awful task of following Ollie?!" she chuckled down the phone. "I thought it was best that I spoke to you before I reported to Anatoly, I think I at least owe you that..." "I should have guessed that! Oh this is so Anatoly! He is so predictable. Don't report anything to him Sara this is just unbelievable... I'll meet with you to discuss everything and maybe you will understand better what is going on..."

"Felicity... Oliver is still in contact with the Triad..."

Felicity paused for a moment taking in what Sara had just said. Because what an earth did she mean?

END CHAPTER


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